Theory of Religion

Theory

Georges

T r a n sla te d

bY

Ro b e r t

Religion

of

Bataille

Hu r leY

Z-ONE

NEW

T]OOK S

1989

Y OR K

reveoledto itscll b.v Desireis r''hot trctnsformt IJcin11J, ( t - lr 9 t l9 Ur zo n c, ln c'

into on "object" revectledto d itselt'in (true) know'leclge,

Z o N F BOOKS

"tubjcct" dit't'erentt'rom the objcct ttnd "opposecl"to it. It is in oncl b.r'- or betterstill, as - "his" Desirethat mtrn

6 r l R r o a ( l\\' a v Su itc 8 3 8 N c s Ytr r k, NY t o o t I A l l r i g h ts r cse r te r l b c r cp r o tlu cccl ' sttl rcd i n r' N o p ar t o t th is b o o k m a v il' r a n v lirrm or trv r c t r i t :r ' a l svstcn l, o r tr a n sn litte ltl m cch a ni cal ' photo. ' ' t r . "",r ., in clu d in g e le ctr o n ic' r tco r d in g ' o r o thtru i sc c r r y r 'in g , n licr o f iIm in g ' lr r .Stt ti ons, t't7 r n tittt' tl ct) l) \in g l) t 1 . t , . 1 ,t lilr lh ' ll \(( |t D \ I C"p r r ig llt ' tr r ' tttr l( J r l ( l r,' x,,1 r lr , tl' \' l ri ttt'n * ith o u t p u b lic ) th c llr e ss r c v i e u tr s lo r r' p c r t t' tissio n{ io n ' r th c f' u b lish e

i.sJormerlan(l is ret'cdled- to himself and to othert - dt an I, as the I that is csscntiall.vdifferent t'rom, antl raclito, the non-|.'lltc (hunton) I is the I of a call.r'opposed Desireor oJ Desire. beinyl,thereThe verv hcing oJ mon, thc selJ-conscious the t'orc, in'rpliesand presupposesDesire. Consequentl.v, humttn reolit.r.cdnbelormed and mdintdineclonlv within an animal hJe. Ilut, if animal Desire a biological re(1lit.t',

a s lfilo r ic de l a R tl i tl i ort O r i g ir r a llv p u b lish ccl in F r a r ice O r 9 7j b v F .d itio n s Ga llir la r cl'

lt is not the conditionof se\-consciousne.ts, is the neces.sctn'

o l i\m cr ica P r i n tctl in th e L ln ite r l Sta te r s

thc SentimentoJ sell.

ss' l ) i s tr ib tr tctl b r ' f h c N' ll f Pr e L o n tlo n' Lngl antl C a m b r id q c, N' la ssa ch u sctts' ' r n tl i c'rti on l )'rta [ - i b r a n o f Co n g r css Ca t' r lo u in g - in - Pr ' rbl

' li- .r n sla tio no { : T lr lo r ic d c la r clig i on' 1 3 ib lio g r a Ph r 'P' : - litle ' r . I{ e lisio n . I' 198() 2oo''l l s l lN o - 9 :1 22 9 9 - o lt- ir( a lk' p a p cr ) I s l lN o - 9 4 2 l9 t) - o 9 - 4( p b k' : ' r lk' p ' r p cr )

man in a posIn contrastto the knowledllethat kecp.s him ancl move.shim to sivc c1uietude,Desirecli.s-quiets oction. Ilorn ol Desire,oction tcnds to satist'v'it, antl can or ot \east rlo so onl' b.v'thc "negation," lhe cle.struction, hunthe tronst'ormotion,o;f the desiredobject: to .sotist'r' or, in (1n)' ger, t'or cxomple, the Jood must be cle.rtroved cose,tronsJormcd.Thus,oll oction is "negdtin[1."

R . r ta illc, Gco r g cs' r 8 9 7 - r 9 6 2 ' ' l- h co n o f r clig io r t'

I r l 48 .lr ]7 ll

suJt'icientcondition. By itself, this Desireconstitutesonlv

- Alcxanclr c Kojdve fl 8-utt5cl t

lntrocluctionto the Recttlingot' IIegel

Contents

ll'here'l'his BookIs Situated 11

Introtluction PAR I

ONE

I Il

e

I -TI E B A S I C

D . { TA

Anintalitv

rt

I Iu m o n i tv a n d th c D cvcl o p n cn t o f th e ProJane Workl

2r

Sacrit'ica,the Fcstival,ond the Principles

III

of thc Sacrec!World REI IGION.

TWO

I II

WI'I HIN

The tN[ilitar)' Order

43 I.HI

65 69

Dualism crnt! ,l'lorolit,v rs

lll

M cd i a ti o n

IV

The RiscoJ lndustr.v To Wh o m ...

I -I N , , I I ' I . S O F

8r

ro7

General Tablettnd ReJerences L 1'7

RLASON

Where

'l'hc

This

Book

Is Situated

fbuntlationof'one'sthought is the thought of anotlrcr;

thought is likc a l>rickccmcntcttht' prict' tlris scmlrlanc'c' of lrecrlonrcostshinr: hc s,but r.rthcr a srlf-consciousncss. In a st'nst'thc unlimitccl asscmblagcis tlrc inrpossible. It takt-scc)uragcanclstutrbornncssnot to go slack.llli'rr'thing invitcs on(' to
) R Y 'J F R F L I C J I O N

thought inipcrsonll mrlvcmcrrt of tilrsakc thc opcn antl is Of tt"t"t thc isolatctlopinion for thc isolatedopinion' of rcvealing rvhat thc asscmblagc also the shortest mcans Btrt it has this dct'p meanc.scntiallvis - thc inrpossiblc. ot'thc t'rct' ing onlv i[ it is t.totc:onscious or at rlt'fincs an apcx tlf pclssillilitr'' I'his Srou'crlt'ssll('ss impossibilitvopcns tlonsciot'tsness l.^.,, .rtlo.,''rt'sstt[ thc placc' li'r it to think' In this gatht'rin{ to all that is possibltrvhich at tht bountlarv of that shcrc vitllcucc is rifc' rt-alizes u'ho ref'lcctsrvithin cohcsion cscaPcsc'ohcsion,he anYr(x)m fcrrhinl' that thcre is no lrll.tgt'r

Introduction

This "theon' of rerligion" outlines lvhat a finished rv
11

r0

II]EOF]Y

OF

L GION

REL

Th.' I Irt' all rcal philosophi PnrtosoPnv' undcniabledclicicncies;it limits all 'fhc philosopherhimsclf to u'ait' scientistis hc u'ho agrces \\'aits, but he cannot tlo so lergitirnatclv'I'hilosophv Ncl rcspontls from thc start to an irrcs
[)

mt'.t .f thought to r('stri(,tt:(llation. T'ht.rct.an_ not bc anv philosophr of the inrlir,itlualanrl thc cxcn.ise of thought c'annotha,r'eanv other outcornc than thc ncgation of individual pcrspcc.tir,es. A basic problenr is linkccl to thc vcrr. itlea of philosophr':hon, to get otrt of tl.rc hunran situation. l{ou' to shift frorn a rt,flecticlr-r suborrli_ natccl to ncccssan.acticln,c.ondcmncclto useltrl rlistinc_ tion, to sclf-consciousllcss a\ coltsrioLlsnt-ss of thr, being u'ithout ('sscn(L-- but cronsr.ious? Thc inevitableincomplction rlocsr-rotin anv rvav dclar. thc rt-sponsc,r,r'l'richis a mor.cmcnt - u.crc it in a st,nsc thc lac'k of a responsr'.On thc contrarv, it gives it thc truth of thc impossiblc,the truth of a sc.rcam.The basic par.rrlox of this "thcorv of rcligion," n.hich posits thc intlil'irlualas a "thing," anrl a negationof intimacr,,brings a poucrlessnessto light, no cloubt, btrt tlie rrv of this poucrlt'ssncssis a prclurlc to thc clccpt,st.il",rc,...

tl

PR nr ON U

T he

Bas i c

D ata

CH, qpr t n

I

Anim alit y

Imman ence

of t he Eat er and t he Eat en

I considt'ranimalitv frclm a narro\\' r'it'upoint that sci'ms questionablc to mt:, but its value u,ill become clear in the coursLrof thc cxposition. From this vieu,point,animalitv is immc
ar7-

BA:JIIJ

DAIA

in an afflrmation clf that thc othcr callnot confront it dif fcrcncc. not cat one anothcr' ' ' ' Animals of a givcn speciesdcl if thc goshau'k cating I'crhaps, but thiJ tloes not matter it crlearlvfrom itsclf in the tht hcn tlocs not clistinguish an object from ourselves' s311s\\dY that u'e distinguish of thc obiect as such' Thc distinction requires a positing differencc if the obicct 'l'hcrc cloesnot extst anv rJjscernib/e that anothcr animal eats has not been posited' Thc animal the. animal that is is rrot yct given as an obiect' Betr'r'een is no rclation of suboreate,t an,l lh" o,l" that eats, therc djna ti o t.l l i k e th a tc .o n rre c ti n g a nobj cct' athi ng,tOman, For thc animal' nothrvho rcluses to be vicu'ed u' u thlt'g' insofar as \\'L-arc hunlan ing is givcn through time' It is its duration is perccpthat thc obiect exists in time rvhcre another exists this side of tible. llut the animal caten b1' anclthis is only a discluraticln;it ts cotlsumr:d,clestroved' nothing is posited beyoncl appearanccrn a rvorlcl rvhere the present. that introduces thc Th.r. lI; Ilothing in animal life hc commands' nothing relation .,f the n-'a't-"rto the onc on ont: side and depenthat might cstablish atttonom)' thcv cat one another' ,1.n.. .il the othcr' Animals' since there is never anvthing are of ul-requal strcngth' but diffcrcnce' Thc betrveen thcrn excepi that qttantitative in thc movemext o[ thc lion is not thc king o[ tht' bcasts:

l8

u.aters he is only a higher u'ave ovcrturning thc other, u,eakcr oncs. That onc animal cats anothcr scarcelyalters a fundamcntal situation: everv animal is in rhe world like v,aterin v,ater.1'he animal situation tlocs contain a componcnt of tht'human situation;if nced be, the animalcan bc rcgarded as a subjcctlor which the rcst of the lr'orkl is an obiect,btrt it is no,er given the possibilitvof rt:ganling itsclf in this lr,av.Elcmentsof this situation can be graspcdbv human intclligcncc,btrt the animal canncltreolrzethem. Dependence

and Independence

of the Anim a| It is true that the animal, likc thc plant, has no autonotny in relation to thc rest of the r,r,orld.An atom of nitrogen, of gold, or a rnolecule of water cxist r,vithoutneeding anvthing from r.vhatsurrounds thcm; they remain in a state clf perfi:ct immancnce: there is nevcr a necessitv, ancl more generallv nothing evcr matters in thc inrmancnt relation of one atom to another or to others. l'he immancnce of a liling organismin the lr'orld is verv diffcrcnt: an organism secks elemt-nts ar'ound it (or outside it) rvhich are immancnt to it and rvith rvhich it must cstablish (rclativclv stabilize)relatior.rs of immancnce.Alreadv it is no longer like water in watcr. Or if it is, this is onlv providecl it managesto nourisAitself. If it docs not, it suf-

I9

I'F_

f'ersancl tlies: the flow (thc immatrcntt) from tlutsirlc tcr w'hich is organic life, onlv insirlc, flom insitlt-to ot-ttsiclc,

consciousncsstaking the plat.e of mv consci
las t sttn < l t' rt t' rt.ti ttto tl (l i l i ()n s ' An organism, morcover, is separatcil from processcs

lifr', half\rav clistant fiom our consr.iousness, pr(.scntsu.s u-ith a morc disconcertingcnigma. In picturing the uni_

that arc similar to it; cach organism is clt-tachcd from other organisms: in this sense organic lif'c, at the samt:

vcrsc u'ithout man, a trnir,ersein lvhich onlv the animal's gazen.oukl bc optncrl to thing:, thc animal being neithcr a thing nor a man, \\,c can onlv call up a l,ision in u.hich \\'c scc nothinq,sint't' tlre objcc.tol this Visionis a nrort._

timc that it acccntuatcsthe relationu'ith thc u'orld, rvith
mcnt that glides from things that have no meaning br. themselves to thc rvorld full of mcanin-qimplietl bv man

as id c .

giving cach thing his ou,n. fhis is lr.hv u,e cannot clcscribc such an objcct in a precise rrar. ()r rather, the corrcct

FallacY of AnimalitY Nothing, as a mattcr of lact, is mrlrc closerlto us than this

rvav to speako[ it (,anoverilt,onlvb<.poetic, in that poctr\. describe.srrothing that dot'"snot .slipto*,ard thc unknou._ ablc.Just as we can speakfictir.clvof the past as if it w,crc

The Poetic

animal life from u'hich rvc arc dcscentlcd.Nothing is mort- forcign to our rvav of thinking than the' earth in the midillc of thc silcnt uI-riverseand having neither the of mcaningthat man givcsthings,nor the meaninglessness ('ol1a things as soon as \\'c trY to imagine thcm u'ithclut sciousnessthat rcllects them. In rcalitr', \\'e can ncvcr cxccPt arbitrarilv, imaginc things rvithout consciottsncss rlur cotlsciottssince rtr artr)imaqineimplv consciousness, ness,aclhcringindeliblv to tht:ir Prcscnce.Wc cau dor-rbtlcss tt-ll ourselvcs that this aclhcsionis fragile, in that n't: nill ceaseto be there,
20

a present, rve spcak finally of prehistoric animals, as u,cll as plants, rocks, and txrdies of ll,ater, as r/' thcv n.ere thi ng:, lr t r t t o dcst r ihe a hnr lst apt , t icr l t o t h( . s( , ( ( ) n( litions is only nonsense,or a poctic lcap. 'l'here u,as no lanrl.scape in a world uhcrc the'c1,t'5that c4>encrl clirl not apprehend u'hat the_vlookccl at, u,here indeetl, in our terms, the cycs did not see. And if', nou,, in mv mincl's crrnfusion,stupidlvcontemplatingthat absenceof'vision, I begin to sal': "-l-here\.\asno r,ision,therc uas nclthingnothing but an en.rptvintoxication limitcd br.tcrror, su[_ f-cri ng,anr l r lcat h, nhich gar t . it a kint l , , f t hickncss. . . ',

2l

v

to things. Somcthingternrlcr,se(.rct,anclpainful clrau.sout

vaquc I arn onlv abusinga poctic capacitl',substitutinga thc lulguration lor the nothing of ignorance' I knon': .ur-,,lut dispensc r'r'ith a fulguration of r'vorclsthat

the intin'racvrvhich keepsvigil in us, extcnclingits glimmer into that animal darkness.In the c.nd,all that I can

-ii,l its nrakt's a fascinatirrghalo for it: that is its richness' is onlv a glorv, and a sign of sovereigntY.Ilut this Poctrv ,uuv bv u'hich a mall gocs from a uorld full of mt'aning to

maintain is that such a r.icu, uhich plungesme into thc night ancl dazzlcs r.nc, brings me cl
u'hich the tlnal clislocation of meanings' of all mt'aning' soon proves to be unavoidable' There is olllY olrtr diflerence l.,ettueel'rthe absur
of c'onsciousness u.ill mo\.(' me thrthcst a.,l.ar',finallv, from

is man's gaze and that of things among which tht' animal or"r.rr,, it is that the tbrmt-r absurditv immcdiatcly , ug- Q.rt,to rts th t' a l )Pa r(' l )trt' tl ttcti ont' f the exa(l s(i -

th.rt unknorr'.1lllc truth u'hic.l'r,trom mvst'lf to thc u.orkl, appcars to me onlv tcl slip ar,r'ar'. The Animal

Is in the Wortd

like Water in Water

*h"reas the lattcr hantls us over to the stickl' tenrptation of poetrv, for, not bcing simplv a tlring, thc animal is not close
I r'r'ill speak of that unknor,vablelater. For the moment, I need to set apart frorn the da.tAcol poctry that rvhich,

opcns before mc a depth that attracts mer and is familiar It is to mc. In a sensc,I kr.rou-this depth: it is rnv orvn' also that rvhich is farthest removed lrom me, that rvhich

clearlv.

descrves the name depth, w'hich mcans prcciserlv rfiar nlricl is ttnlathomablero me. But this too is poetrY' ' ' ' (if I cat it lnsof'aras I can oLsoseethe animal as a thing in mv clun uar-, lrhich is nclt that of ancltheraniulal - or if I cnslareit or treat it as an obit'ct of science),its abstrrd-

u.s,is .soto the extent that uc cannot
.',i*r,

itv is just as dircct (if ont' prefcrs, iust as ncar) as that of stonesor air, but it is not always,antl nevcr cntirch'' rerlucible to that kind of infcrior reality rvhich $c attrihute

)2

from thc standpointof cxpcricncc,appcarsdistinctlv and I am able to sav tlrat the anintalworlcl is that of intnrane'nccand immercliacv,for that u'orkl, u,hich is closcrl to

bc able to establishit absolutelv.Wr: can at leastimagine, an cmbrvo of th.rt ability in anim.rls,but u.e cannot
V

ttr thc human that the transccntlcnccclf things in relation ir.rrclation to things) is (or of consciousncss consciousncss manifestt'rl.Intlecd transct'ntlcnccis ntlthing if it i: rr,t is t
bet*t-tn itsclf ancl thc u,orld. Attractir.c or distrcssing phcr.ronrcnaarisc lx-fbrc it; othcr phcnomena do not cclrrespondeither to indiriduals of the samespecies,to foorto anvthingattractirt. or re ltcllcnt, so that rvhat appears has no llt-aning, or is a siqn of somcthing clse. Nothing brcaksa cor.rtilruitr-inuhich fi'ar itself rloesnclt announcc. anvthing that nright bc distinguishcdbcfore being cleacl. Fi rcn the f ight ing bct ucen r ir als is anot hcr convulsion u hcrc insubst.rntialsharlou.scnrcrqc fr-orr the inevitablc r('sponsr-s to stimuli. If thc anim.rlthat has brought clow.n its rir.rl tlocslrot .lpprehendthc otht-r'sdeathasdoesa man beharing tritrrtrpl.rantlr', this is bc-r.ause its riral hatl not bnrkcn a contiltuitv that thc rival'srlt-athdoestrot recstabl i sh. ' l -his cont inuit v r r . ls not callcd int o qucst ion, but r.rthcr tl.rcirlcntitr of dcsircsof tu o heingss(,tolte ag.rinst tht'other in mortal combat.-fhc apathr.thatthc gazcof the animal cxprcssesaftcr thc combat is the sign of an existencetha t is essent iallr . on a lcvcl nit h t hc uor ld in uhich i t moveslike nat cr in uat cr .

thcre being an a\\'arcn('ssclf its h.rvirlg llt-cn rt'ntor.cd' Wc cannot sav conccrning a $cllf $hich c'rts itl()thL-r \\()lf that it r,iolatesthc la$. dccrt-cing that or
)1

25

V

Culr,rln Humanity

and

of the

the

Profane

ll Development World

I-or thc momcnt, I rr ill not trv to gir.e thc fbregoing a firmcr support. What I har,esaiclimplics an excursionof the intcllcct outsidt' the domain of the cliscontinuousu.hit.l.r i s at l e.rs tit s pr ivilcgccldom ain. I uish t o passr r it hout firrther clc.lavto that solid milicu on lr'hich.r,r'cthink rrc can rclt'.

The Positing

of the Object:

The Tool

Thc positingof thc otrject,rvhich is not givcn in anirnalitv, is in thc human ust-of tools; that is, if the tools as middle terms are adaptcd to thc intendecl rcsult - if thcir uscrs perflcct them. Insofar as tools arc der,elopcd rvith thcir end in vicw, consciousnessposits them as objects, as interruptions in thc indistinct continuitv. The clcrelopccl tool is thc nascentfbrm o[ thc non-|. J'hc tool brings extcriority into a rvorlcl u,here the: t/

V

ND

lr'hcre subject has a part in thc elcmcnts it distinguisl'res, it has a part in the u'orld and rcmains "likc r'r'ater in watcr." Therelcment in u'hich the subjt'cthas .r part - thc to it (likcurrrkl, an animal, a plant - is not subordinatc
T HF

PNOF ANE

W ORID

truc cnrl, n'hich r,r'ouklscn,t' no purposc. What a ,,truc encl" rcintrocluc.esis the continuous bcing, lost in the lvorltl likc uatcr is lost in uatcr-:or clsc,if it u.erea bt,ing as rlistinc'tas a tool, its meaning w.cluklhavc to bc sought on thc plane of utilitv, of thc tcxrl;it u.or-rltlno longcr be, a " truc cn
subjcc't rlr thc u'
Tl-rcobject, on tl'rc contrar\,, has a mr:arringthat breaks the undiff-crentiatcdcontinuitv, that stan
u,ith an enil in vicrv, and its subordination to this cnd; at thc' samc time it establishcsthe clear distinction betu'een

cencls.It is strictlv alien to the subject, to the self still immcrsetl in immanenc.e.It is thc subjcct'spropcrtv, thc

thc end and thc mcans ancl it flocs so in the very ternns that its apPcarancehas tlerflncd.Unfortunatelv thc end is thus given in terms of the means, in terms of utilitl'' This

sul'rjcct'sthing, btrt is nrxrethclessimperviousto thc subiect. 'l'he perf-cct- c.omplcte,clear and distinct - knon.lcdge that thc subjt'cthasof the object is entirelv extcrnal;

is one of the most remarkablc and most lateful aberrations of language.Thc pr'rrposcof a tool's usc ahvaYshas thc same meaning as the tool's usc: a utility is assignedt
it rcsults fiom manulhcturc;* I knou, uhat the obiect I

it in turn and so on. The stick digs the ground in ordcr to ernsurethe grou'th of a plant; thc plant is cultivatcd in order to be caten; it is catcn in order to maintain the life of thc one u'ho cultivates it. ' . . Thc absurdity of an cndless cleferral only iustifies thc equivalent absur
28

xAs ont'(an secr I havc placcd thr tool antl the manulacturt,rl otrjt,r.t on thc samc planc, the rcason being that the tool is first of all a n.ranu_ l acture
^rl t' prc rt' nt

the.bj ett i t emhel l i s hc sfi om bei ng us t' tl frrr

29

F

ND

IHE

PROFANE

WORLO

havc made is; I can makc anothcr onc likc it, but I w'ould not be able to make another being like me in the r'r'avthat

appeared(as if thcy \\,erc comparable to thc digging stick, or thc chippcd stone) clemcntsthat u.erc anclnonetheless

a rvatchmaker makcs a u'atch (or that a man in the "age of the rein
remained continuous rvith thc w,orld, such as animals, plants, other men, and finallv, thc subject determining

nor do I knorv r,r'hatthc I'r'orld is and I u'ould not bc ablc to producc another one by anY means. 'fhis t-xtcrnal knou'ledge is perrhapssupcrficial' but it alone rs capableof rctlucing man's clistancefrom the tlbalthough jccts that it dctermint's.It makcsof thcse'objects, most antl ncart'st is thev remain r'lost-dto us, that lvhich to us. t.rr.r'riliar

itsclf.'fhis means in clthcr uorrls that r.r'cclo not knou. ourselr.esdistincdv ancl clearly until the clay u,c scc ourselvcs from the outsicle as anothcr. Moreoverr, this rvill clcpendon our first having rlistinguishccl thc other on the plane u.hcre manufactured things have appearcrl to us rlistinctly. This bringing of clcments of the same naturc as thc strbject,or the subject itsclfl onto thc planc of objects is aluavs prt'carious,unccrtain, and uncvcnlv rcalizerl.But

The Positing

of Immanent

Elentents

this rel.rtire prccariousncss mattcrs lcss than thc dec.isivc

in the Sphere of Objects The positing of thc objcct knou'n clearlY ancl distinctlv from without gcnerallv defines a sphcre of objects, a

possibilitvo[ a r.ier.r'point from u'hich the imnranentclemcnts are pe'rceivccllrclm the ontside .rs objt'cts. ht the cncl, w'e pcrceive each appcarance- subjcct (ourst-lr.es),

u'orld, a planeron vi'hich it is possible to situatc clcarlv and clistinctl], at lcast so it appcars,that rvhich in theory

animal, mincl, u'orld - from u'ithin an
cannot be knou'n in the samc rvay. Thus, having determinccl stablerand simple things rvhich it is pt-rssiblcto

selvers, ancl as ob;ect.*

makc, mcn situatcd on the same plane u'herc the things

Language clcfines, from one plane to the other, the category of subject-object, of the subject considcred objectir,elv,clcarly and clistinctly knou,'n from the outsidt-

this or that: a houst-,a table, or a garment are no ltss uscful than a hamDtcr. Ferv indccd art, the objects that har,ethe r,irtue of serving tro lunct i u n in tltt , t. l. ,,f u st ftr l ,r ttivilr ' .

l0

*Oursel re suhat : ex i s tc nti alphi l os ophv < al l s ,aftc r H egel ,./i r rrs ef thc ofrj ect i s t t' rmerl , i n tht,s amt,rotabul arl , tn i ts c l l .

ll

insolar as this is possiblc.But ar-robjcctivitv of dris nature,

as a u' hok'llr t it r cm ainsscpar at ( 'asit r r as in t ht 'm int l

clcar as to the scparatepositing of onc element, rcm.ritts

of thc ont 'uho nr ar lcit : at t hr m ( r r ( 'lt t t l. r atsuit shim , a

confuscd: that elemcnt kceps all tl'rcattributcs of a subicct

nran can rt'gard this objcct, an arro\\'sa\', as his fcllou

anclan objcct at thc sametinrc. Thc transccndctrceof'thc tool and thc crcative facultv connectcd r'r'ith its usc are

lrt'ing, u ithout taking au al tl'rc oltcrativc ltou cr anrl transc'cntlcnc'c of tht' arro\\. Ont' r'ou]rl t'\'('n sav that an

confr.rscdlv attributt-tl to dre ar.rimal, tl-rc plant, tlrc

objcct thus transposc'tlis not rlitiert'nt, in tht' irlagirration

meteor; thcv are also attributcd to thc t-ntire u'orld.*

of thc onc uho c'onceilcsit , f i'onruhat he him sclfis: t his arro\\, i rr his eves, is r apablt ' of act ing, t hinking, anr l

The Positing of Things as Subjects 'Ihis first confirsionbeing cstablisht'd,a planc of'subjcc'ts-

spcakinglikc hirl. The Supreme

Being

objects being delincd, the tool itself can be placcd on it if ncetl lrc. 'l'he objcct that the tool is can itsclf bc regarclcd

If rrc norv picture mtn cor.rcciving thc uorkl ir.rthc light

as a subject-obicct.It then reccivcsthe attributcs of thc

of an cxistcnce that is continuous (in relation to thcir

subjcct anrl takes its place rlc:xt to those aninrals,thosc

intimac'r',tht'ir rlccp subjcitivitr'), uc must alsclpcrceirc

plants, those mctc<)rs,or those mcn that the objcct's

the nccd for them to .rttributc to it thc r,irtucso1'a thirrq

transcendcnce,asc'ribedto them, u'ithdrar.r'sfrorr thc con-

"t'apableol'at'ting, thinking, ancl s1>caking" (just as m(.n

tinuum. It bccclmcscontinuousu'ith respectto thc rlorlcl

rlo). In this rcduction to a rfiinq, thc uorld is gircn both thc fornr of isolat t 'cl in
xThis last mr.rddlcis probablv the most turious one. If I trv to graslr

this pcrsonallv rlistinct po\\'cr has at thc samc tirnc thc

uh a t n r \ th o u g lr t is d csig n a tin ga t th c Iroment rrht'n i t takestl i e,trrrl
Jil'lnc charactt'r oi a pt'rsonal,indistinct, and inrntanclrt

as its o b je ct, o n ce th t- a b su r d itvo fth e *orl tl as a seP arateobj t'tt, as a

existcnce.

rfirnc analogous to thc manul,rtttrreti-rnanufattttring tool, has l>t't'n fb llcr l, th is u o r l< l r t' m a in s in m e a s that ronti nui tr from i nsi tl t'to out-

In a scnsc, thc r.r'orl
sitlt' , iio n r o tttsitlt' ttt in sitle ,u h ith I harc l i tral l r ]tr,l ttt tl i stol tt': I tatl -

bt'ing into bc'inq-
n o t in la ct a scr ih cto su b je ctivitvth c li mi t o{ rnvscl for of httman sel rts;

satcr i n u at er ) . S
I c.r r r r r o lir t r r it it ir r Jr ) \ \\a \

)l

ti

-

Thcrt' is tloutrtless,in tht' invcnall an impovcrishrncr-rt.

The S acr ed

tior"rof a supreme bt'ing, a clctt'rmirrationto rlc{ltri' a valile

All pcoples har c cloubtlessc'onceived this suprcme bcing.

that is grcater than anv othcr. But tl'ristlt'sirt ttr itttrt'ast'

but tht' opcration secmsto have failed cvcryu'hcre.1'hc

rtsults in a diminution. The objt-ctivcpcrsonalitvof thc

suprcmc being apparentlvrlid not have rn\. prestrgccom-

sul)rcme bcing situates it in thc 'uvorlrlnext to other personal bcings of the samc lratllrc, subjectsantl objt'cts at

parablcto that rvhich the God of thc Jeu,s,and later that of the Christians,r.r'asto obtain. As if thc opr-rationhacl

thc samt'time, like it, but fronr u'hich it is clearlvclistitrct.

takc'rrplacc at a timc u'hen thr scnsc of continuitt' uas

Mcn, animals, plants, hcavcnlv bodies, mt:tcors.. . . If

too strong, as if the ar.rirnal or divine continuitr. of lir.ing

thrsc arc' at thc sarnt' titlc things and intimatc bcings,

beings r,r'ith thc lr.orld harl at first sccmcd limitcd,

thrv can bc cnvisaqcrlnextto a suprem(-bcing ol this tvpc, u'hich, likc thc others, is in thc rvorl
irnpor.erishedbv a lirst clumsy attempt at a rccluctionto an objcctir.c indiviclualitv. 'fheri: is everv indication that

likc tht' othcrs. The^reis no ultimatc equalitr' Irt'tn'cen

the first mcn wcre closcr than \\'e are to thc animal s.orld;

thcm. Bv clefinition,the supreme being has the highest rank. Btrt all are of the sarnekind, in r'vhichimman.'n...'

thcv distinguishedthc animal from thernsrlvcs1>crhaps, but not uithout a fceling of rloubt mixed r,r'ithterror and

and pcrsonalitvare rlingled; all can l>c,/ilinean
longing. The senset>fcontinuitl that u,c must attribute to

u'ith an opcrative po\\'(:r; all can spcak thc language of

animalsno longer irnprcsscditself on the mind une.cprir,ocallv (the positing of distinc'tobjccts u'as in fat't its nt'g;r-

thcv basicallvlinc up on man. Thus, in spitc of cr.'ervthing, a planc of cqualitv. I am obligcd to ernphasizcthis aspcctof trnintcntional impovcrishmcnt and limitation: nolr'atlavs('hristians rkr

tion). But it had c.lerivcda ne\\' significancefrom the (ontrast it (brrncd to thi' u'orltl of things. This continuitt', u'hich fbr the animal could r.rot bc. distinguisheri frorn

not ht'sitateto rcc'ognizcin tlrc various"suprt'mt:btings"

anvthing clse,w,hichuas in it ancllbr it thc onlv possible

of uhicl-r "primitivt's" hare kept somc mclnorv, a first

mode of being, olferecl man all the lascination of the

consciousness clf the God thcv be'licr.ein, but this nascent trarv, it u'as a kinrl of u't-akcningof an animal sctrsc'u'ith-

sacred u'clrlcl, as against the por.crtv of the pr
ollt coml)cnsatiotr.

animal krst in the n"ristsof cclntinuity w'herc nothing is

\\'as not a blossomingfbrth; on thc corrconsciousness

34

t5

7

IlUMANITY

(listinct. In thc first plac'e,uhile it is truc thal the confusion has not tcast'd in thc' utirld tlf tnists, thc lattt'r tltr opposc an opaque aggregatcto a clear uorld. This aggrcgatc appearsdistincdv at thc boundan of that u'hich is t'xtcrnallr', lrom that clear: it is at least <listinguishabler,

AND

TFIE

PROIANE

W(JRL

D

tions, thc hierarchv of spirits tcnds to bc basctl on a lirnrlar.cntalclistinc'tirl.be'tr'r.cnspirits trrat
rvhich is clcar. Morcor-cr,thc animal acccptetlthe imma-

u,hich tcnd to ftrrnr a honr
nence that submergctl it u ithor.rt appar('tlt Protest, rr,hcrcasman fccls a kind of impott'nt hrlrror in the scrrse

allv slight. Thc suprcme bcing, thc sovcrtign rlcitr, the god of heavcn, is generallr. onlv a morc po\\,crful gorl of

of drt' sacrctl. This horror is ambiguotrs.Utrdoubtc
thc' samc naturc as thc clthcrs.

valut',but at thc sarnctimt' it aPPcarsr crtiginotrslvdangt'rous firr th.rt clcar anrl prolanc n orltl u hcrc r.nankindsittr. r t t ' ri ts p ri r i l t' g ttl tl t,m a i n .

Thc gotls are sinrplvmvtltical spirits,u.ithor-rtanv sub_ stratum of rcalitv. 'l-he spirit that is not sulror
T he Sp i ri ts a n d th e Go d s Thc cqualitr anclinec;ualitvof thcse variouscxistenccs,all oppclscclto the rhingsthat pure objccts are, n'soh,'esintcl a hierarchv of .ipirit.i.Mcn ancl thc suprcnre bcing, trr.rt also, in a lirst reprcscntation,animals,plants,lllctcor.\. . . arc spirits. A scale is built into this conccption: thc a ptlrc spirit; similarlv, the supr(-mebcing is in a st-t'tst' spirit of a dc'adman docs not depi:nclon a clear matcrial rcalitv like that of a living one; finallv, the connecticinof t he a n i ma l o r p l i rn t s p i ri t (o r th e l i kt' ) ui th.rn i ndi ri cl tral animal or plant is vcrv vagu(':such spirits are rnvthicalinrlepcndcnt of the givcn rt'alitics. LIr.rclerthcse condi1 t)

The Positing

of the World

of Things and of the Bodv as a Thing With thc positing of a thing, ar-robjcc.t,a tool, an im1>lc_ lnent, or of a
J1

HIJMANITY

Within the limits of continuitv, er,crvthingis spiritual;

AND

The Eaten Animal,

TI]t

Pf]OFAI!E

WORI

D

the Corpse,

tht'rt' is no opposition o[ the minrl an
and the Thing

positing of a norld of mvthical spirits anrl the suprcme

The definition of thc animal as a thing ltas bccomc a basic

raluc it reccivt'sarc naturallv linkcd to thc tlcfinition of

hurnangir cn. 'l'hr : anint all'r asl
thc mortal bodv as lrcing opposcd to thc mintl. l'ht' diffc'rt'nccbctu.ern thc mind ancl thc borlr. is b\, no means thc sameas that bct*ecn continr.ritv(imnrancnce) and thc objcct. ln thc first immanence,no differcnce is possiblc bt'fbrt' thc positing of tbc manufhcturc'dtool. Likorise, n'ith thc positing of the suhject on the planc ol obiccts (of thc' subject-objrct),thc mind is r.rotvet distinct fnrm thc botlr'. C)nlv starting lrom thc mlthical represcntationof autonomousspirits doestl-reborlv fin
sclf, rcgardsit as a detect.Thcrc is uncloubtctllva measurc of falsitv in thc fit't of rt'gartlingthc animal as a thing. An arrimal exists fbr itself ancl in ortk'r to lrc a thinq it must 'fhus tlrt' catcn animal can bc br rlcarl or (lorncsticatcd. posite'das an obicct onlv provided it is catcn clcatl.Inclcc
l8

Jc)

7

\flLl

ances,('\'enharclcnc
The Worker

T lrE

PH()f.\fJE

W ORI

D

and the TooI

Generallvspcaking,thc uorlrl of things is pcrc.civcrlas a fillcn rrorkl. It t'ntails tht, alit-nati
10

+l

Y

pu1x)se is not his orvn PurPosc' antl during thc tirnc uhcn hc is tcntling the stock, tht: purpost' of thc stock raist'r is not his o\\'n PurPosc.Thc agricultural proclutt ancl the'livestock arc things, ancl the thrmt'r rlr thc stock raist'r,
CHAr''rr-u I I I the

Sacrifice, Principles

Festival,

of the

Sacred

and

the

World

thcre arc neithcr separationsnor limits. In the clcgret'that he is the immancnt it'nmcnsitv,that hc is bcing, that he is o/ thc norlcl, man is a stratrgerfbr himst'li. Thc farmcr is not a man: hc is tht' plou' of the onc u.ho t-atsthc breacl' At the limit, thc act of thc eatcr himst-llis alrcatlvagricultural labor, to uhich hc furnishcstht' cncrgv.

The N e ed That I s M et by Sacrifice

and Its Principle

Thc flrst fruits of the harvcst or a he.rclof livestock arc sacritlccdin
12

+J

Y

lnan an(l arc nothinq to hirn, u'hich hc knous lrom thc outsi
that urrrlcl of things on u.hich clistinc'trealin is founded. It could not derstrovthc animalas a thing u'ithout denving the animal's objcctive realit,v.This is rvhat gives thc lr,orld

This assLrmes that it has ccasctlto bc sumotioncharnelle\.

of sacrifice an appcarancc of puerilc gratuitousness.But

separatedfrclm its oun intimacv, as it is in the subclnli-

onc cannot .rt the sametimc destro_l' tlrc valuesthat fbund

n.rtion of labor. Thc s.rcriflct'r'sprior separation tl'clr.ntl.re

rcality an
rrrlrlcl of things is n('(('ssarlfilr thc rcturn to intlnrocl,of

intimacr implies a becloudcd consc'ir>usncss: conscious-

immanence betuccn man anrl the r,rorltl. bctrrccn thc

ncss is tierl to thc positing of objects as such, graspccl

subjcctanclthe object.The sacriflc'crnct-dsthc sacrifict'in

clirectlv, apart from a vaguc pcrception. bevclnd thc

orler to scparatchimsclf lrom thc u'orltl of things anrl

alrvavsunrcal imagesof a thinking bascclon participation.

thc victim could not bt' separatcd from it in turn if the sacrificerllas not alrea
The Ordinarv

riflcer
of Death and Sacrifice

uclrld clf the gou,rictim, from tht' uorlrl in uhich \:'ou \\'crL' and could onlr. be rccluc'cclto thc contlition of a thing, having a mcaning that uas fbreign to vour intimate natllrc. I call roLr back to the rntlmocro[ thc rlivinc rvorld, of the profounrl irnmanenccof all that is."

Association

The pucrilt' unt'onscir>ust.tt'ss of sacrific'ct'r'engocs so far that killinq al)])carsas a \\'a\'of rcrlrcssingthc rvr,rngdontl to thc aninral, miscrablv rccluct'clto thc c'onclitionof a thing. As a matter of flact,killing in tlrc litcral st:nsris not ncccssary.lJut the greatcst ncgation
T he U n re a l i tv

o f th e D i v i n e

W orl d

death is nothing in immanc:nce,but becauseit is nothing,

Of coursc this is a mcrnolrigucand thc victim can ncithe-r

a being is ncver trulv scparateclfronr it. llecauscclc-athhas

understand nor replv. Sacrifice essentiallvturns its back

no meaning, bccausetht're is no diffr:rcncc bertrvecnit and

on rcal rclations.If it took them into account,it rvoul
Iifc, and tht're is no fear of it or dcfcnsc against it, it

against its or,r,nnatur(', rvhich is prccisclv thc oppositc of

+4

invaclcsevcrlthing rvithout giving rise to any rcsistancc. .t :)

l)uration ceascsto haveranl. r,aluc, or it is there only in ordcr to produce thc morbid
mcasurclcssviolcncc is a danger to thc stabilitt'of things, an afflnnation that is fulh,rocalccl onlv in death.Thc real orrkrr must annul - nt'trtralizt'- that intimatc lilc an
existcncer,has a mcaning, r-rnlcssa subsequenttime is positecl,in vicw. of lr.hich it is constitutcd as an objcct. 'l'hc objcct is
in dcath from rocaling thc inli.sihle brillianct:of life that 'I'he is ncrt a thing. po\ver of rleath significs that this real

or fucl is, thc eatcr or thc manulbctured object prcservcs

the moment it gives out. No onc knt'u.it r'r,asthcrc lvhern

its value in cluration;it has a lasting purpose likc coal or breacl. Futurt' time constitutcs this real rvclrlclto such a

it',r'as;it uas or,crlookt-din thvclrof real things:dcath r,r'as

rvorlcl can onlv har,c a neutral image.of lifc, that lif'c's intimacv docs not rt'r't'al its dazzling consr.rmptionuntil

onc rcal tl-ring among others. llut rleath sucklenlv sh
tlegreethat death no longcr has a placc in it. But it is for this ver1.reason that dcath mcans cventhing to it. The (thc contradiction) of the r.vorlclof things is that r,ve-akncss

that thc rcal sociertvwas lving. l'ht'n it is not thc loss of

it imparts an unrcal characterrto clcathcvernthough man's membership in this w.orltl is ticcl to the positing of thc

but rather its truth. That intimate llf-e,u'hich hacllost thc

bodv as a thing insofar as it is mortal.

thing, is firllv rcstorc-d to mv scr-rsibilitvthrough its

As a mattcr of fact, that is a sr-rpcrficialr ieu . What has no placc in thc n,orkl of things, n.hat is unreal in thc real

atrscncc.l)cath rcvcals lif'c in its plcnituclcand dissolr,cs

lr'orld is not cxactlv rlcath. I)eath actuallr.discloscsthc imposturc of rcalitv, not onlr. in thrt thc alrrcnccof tlura-

rcal order is the ncr'
tion givcs the lie to it, but abovc all be'causc rlcath is tht, grcat affirmcr, thc u'ondcr-struck cn of lifc. Thc real

u'hat rcmainsis not an cntitv that sr-rf}i'rs bt'rcavcment;all

order does not so rnuch rcjcct thc ncgationof lifc that is death as it rejccts thc aflinnation of intimate lifi., r,vhcise 46

thc thing, of the usefulmr:mber,that is taken into consideration. What the real socit'tv has lost is not a member abilitv to full.vrcach mc, xhich I rcgarclcclprimarilv as a

thc rt'al order. I lenccfirrth it rnatt('rs verv littlc that this longer cxists. When an clcmcnt cs('apcsits tlcmanrls, at on(c that cntitr', the rcal onlcr, hascomplctclv dissipatcd. 'fhcrt'is no morc qucstion of it and uhat clcathbrings in tt'arsis thc trst'lcss c
41

SA.]R IFI.Jf

TFF

fF ST IVAI

Itst

.,Act]EI)

W .rRLf)

It is a naivc opinion that links dcath closclvto sorrou.. 'l'hertcars of the lir ing, n,hich respond to its r.oming,arc

not to kill but to rt'linquishand to givc. Killin.qis onlv thc cxhibition of a rleep me;rning.What is important is t
themsclvesfhr from lraring a mcalringoppositcto jov. Far

pass from a lasting orclt'r, in rvhich all r.onsumptionof

fronr bcing sorroulirl, thc tcars arc the cxprcssionof .r

rcsources is subordinatcrl to tht' nt'etl fbr cluraticln,to the

kccn au,arcncssof sharedliie graspcdin its intimacv. It is

violt'nccof an uncontlitionalcclnsumption;rvhat is impor-

truc tlrat this auart.ncss is nt'r'r'r keener than at thc

tant is to lcavt' a u'clrltl of real things, rvhose rt-alitv

momcnt r'r'hcnab.senr:e .suclrlcnlv rcplaccsprcst'nce,as in rleath or mere sr.paration.Anrl in this casc, thc con-

derives from a long tcnn opcration anrl nevcr rcsirk-sin thc momcnt - a norlrl that crcatcs an
solation(in the strong scnscthc u'orcl has in thc "conso-

crcatcs for thc br.nr'fltof a lastingrealitvy.Sacrifict'is thc

lations" of the mvstics) is in a sensebitterlv tie
antithesisof procluction, u,hich is accomplishcclrvith a

u,ith it, that uncovers a ground of things that is
vicr,vto the fluturc; it is cclnsuntpticlnthat is conccrnerl onlv u'ith thc moment. 'Ihis is thc scnsein u'hich it is gift anclrclinquishmcnt,but u,hat is givcn ('annotbe an objcct

bright tin other rrords, it is clear tlrat the nccd lirr dtrra-

of presen'ation for the rect'ivcr: the gilt of an o{fcring

ticln conccalslifi: fi'onr us, an
makcs it pass prcciseh' into thc n orld of ahrupt

rcspond insteadto unexpectecltriumph, to goo
l-his is the mc-aningof "sacriflcing to the rleity," uhose sacrcdcsscnceis comparableto a firc. To sacril-ice

c on( (' rn fo r I ftrtrrrcti me .

is to give as onLrgives cclalto thc furnace. lJut tht' lurnacer

anc'coI duraticln,antl of the neutral bcha','iorsassclciatt:d

cclnsumption.

orclinarilvhas an undcniableutilitv, to u'hich the coal is The Consummation

of Sacrifice

strborclinaterl,rvhereasin sacrifice tht' ollcring is rt'sc'uecl

Thc pou'cr that death generall_v has illuminatesthe mc.rning of sacrifice, rvhich functions like death in that it

frour all utilit\'.

rt'stores a lost r,aluc through a relinquishmcnt of that value. But death is not necessarilvlinkcd to it, ancl the most solcmn sacrificemav not bc bloodv. 'l'cl sacrificcis

onc sacriflcesn.fioris usefirl;one does not sacrifice luxuri-

,+8

This is so clcarly the precisemt-aningof sacrificc,that ous ob.jcc'ts.Therc could bc no sacrillcc if thc offi'ring u'ere dt-stro1'cdbefirrehancl.Nolr, depriving thc labor o1' ,1 C)

V

SAL ]FIf

manuf;(turc of its uscfi.rlness at tht' outsct, luxun. lras alrcaclvdevro,ved that labor; it has clissipatedit in vainglon; in the vcrv monrcnt, it has lost it for goocl.To sac.-

CF

IF E

F ES]T IVAI

T HE

S]A']RED

W T )I]

I

stilI a nergativedt'flnition, lrom uhich the csscntial is missing. 'fhese

statcmcntshave thc vagut'clualitvof inacccssi-

r illc c a l u x u n ' o b j c tt u r> trl
ble rlistances,but on the othcr hand artictrlatccl
llut ncither coul
lbr that u'hich is articulatcd.

ing l>elongccl tcl immancnce,uoulcl not har.cbct-nseconrlarilv subjugatt'tl,rlomcsticatccl,anrl rt'rluc.crlto bt'ing a thing. Sacrificcis rtrarleof objt'cts that c.oukl havt lteen spirits, suc'has animalsor plant sutrstanccs, but that harc trecorncthings an
strbstitutcthc trcc lbr the forest, thc clistinctarticr,rl.rtion I u'ill resrlrt to articr,rlationncvcrtheless. l'aracloxicallv,intimacv is r,iolcncc,and it is destnrction, l>ccauscit is not compatiblcu'ith thc positing of thrscparateindividtral.II one descrilrcsthe indiviclualin the opt'ration of sacrifice,hc is tlefincd bv anguish.Br.rtif sacrifice is distressing,the: rerasonis that the indiviclual takcs part in it. Thc indiriclualiclentifiesuith the victim in thc strrklcnnrovomcnt that restclrcsit to inruranence(to intinrac\'),but the assirnilationthat is linkerl to the rt'turn to

Anguish,

and Sacrifice

Intimacv cannot be c-xprcsscddiscursir.cly. T'he su'elling to the bursting point, the malicc that brt'aks out rvith clenthccl teeth anrl \\'ccps; thc sinking fi'.'ling that ckx'sn't knou uhcrc it r'orn('sfiom or nhat it's alrout; thc ft'ar that singsits hca
50

immanernccis noncthclessbascdou thc lact that the ric-l'hc tim is the thing, just as the sacriflceris the intlividual. st'parateindivirlual is of tht' sam('nature as thc thing, or rathr:r thc anxiousnessto remain pcrsonalh' ali"c that t'stablishcsthe pt'rson'sinclivirlu.rlitvis linkc
5l

v

HF

gASIC

,AaRELl

O A IA

WC)nLtr

as onc might think, a thing bccaust,hc is afraicl.Hc u.or,rlrl havc no anguishif he-rlcre not the intlir,iclual(thc,thing), .rnd it is .ssentiallv the fac.tof lx-ing an irrriiri,l'al thlrt

anrl contagiousmovemcnt of a purelv glorious consump-

fucls his anguish.It is in .rclcr to ..ati.fi thc rlenranrls .f thc tl-ring,it is insofar as rht,uorkl nf ihi,-,gs; has positerl his duration as tl.rt'basic r.ondition of his uorth, that hr. learnsanguish.I{e is alraitl of death as soon as hc entcrs

a thing u'hir:h an r,rnlirnitcdfire is; it sprcads, it racliatcs

thr. ststr:m of projec,tsthat is the order of things. Death clisturbsthc ordt'r ol things anrl thr: orclerof thinq. holtJ,. us. lV1anis afrairl of thc intimatc ordcr that is not recon_ cilable rvith thc ordcr of thirrgs.C)thenvisethcre rvoulcl bc no sacrifice,and thcre rroirkl bc no mankincl eitht,r. The i'timat. order u.lulcl re'car itserfin the clestruc'ot tion and the sac.rcdangrrishof the intlividual. llccau.sc rnan is not squarclyu.ithin that ordcr, but onlv partakcs o[ it through a thing that is thrtatcne
it is nevt-r isolatcrland, in a uorkl
tion. Thc sacrcclis cxactlv c'omparableto thc flame that clcstro-vs thc u'ood bv corrsumingit. lt is that oppositc of hr-at an
T he F e s ti v a l l-lre sacrcd i.sthat prcxligiousefk,n.esct,rrccof lifetlrat, for thc sakerof cluration,the order of things holclsin c.herck, and that this hokling c.hang..s into a hrl..akingloose,th;rt is, into violencc'. It constarrtly tlrreatcn.sto brcak the dik c s ,to c o n l ro n t p ro < l u c ti v t.a tti ri t_r rri th the preci pi tatc

human rvitl'routbeing a thing ar-rrl o[ csc'aping tht' linrits of things uithout returning tcl animal slrrmbt'rrcccilcs thr limitcrl solutionof the fcstival. Thc initial movenrt'nt of tht' fcstiral is givt'n in clcrnentarvhumanitv, but it reacht'sthc plcnitutle of an cf-fusiononlv if tht' anguishc
tsE

BAS]C

DATA

sets it loosc. Thc fcstival assernblesmcn rvhom the con_ the c.orrtagio,.s ,f-fcri'g (co'r'runi'n) ,pens 'f up to a c.onflagration,but one that is limitecl by a counter_ sumptio'

r.ailing prudence: thcre is an aspirati.n for destruction that brcaks,ut in tl.rcft.stiral,l-,r,tth.." is a conse^,.atrr.c prudcncethat regulatr:sand linrits it. On thc one hand, all thc possibilitiersof consumption arc brought togt-ther: dancc anclPoctrv, ntusicand tht.
the Iltilitarian Interpretation of the Festival, and the positing of the Group 'l'hc fi.stiral is thc firsionof hunran life. For thJ thing an
s4

tIE

sncuaD

WiIFLL)

cnscmblt'that is at stakc in thc rituals. Fclr tht' sak''''rf a rcol ctttnrnutritr',of a st-,cialfat't that is gircn as a tlrirrgof a commclnopcration in vit'u of a futtrrc timt' - thc fcstiral is limiterl: it is itsclf intt'gratt'clas a link in thc ton. 'hat 's,scxt lal catctrat ionclf us, 'luluor ks. As r nt 'bv t hc f cst ival,t o uhom thc sacr if lct 'isof f cr ct l, . lnlerccont'ili.rtion,filll t
55

Y

INt

subjec't-objcct), but its positing has the r,alut-of a lirnit to the irnmanenccol' tht' fcstiral anri, firr this reason, thc thing aspcctis acccntuatcrl.If thc fi'stivalis not vet, r>rncr longcr, unnsciousltcss clcar in tht'coursc rif tirnc lf it had not turnr
56

SA!

IIF D

W ORLLI

krsc looking firr rrhat it has itscl{'lost, antl ulrat it mttst ()f ctltrrscu'hat it has lost is ,',g.i,,., it
lotlgt r

gl \ (' n. War:

The Illusions

of the Ilnleashing

of

to the Outside of thc festival A soc'ictv'sindivirlualitv,uhich the lusion rvorks - of ,lirr,rl,'.r, is tleflnctl flrst of all in tcrrns of rcal into tht agrarian prtic|-rt'tiol.r- that integrate sacrificc thr"rshas the ..l ,rl,l ,,f things. tlut thc trnitv of a groLlP outside' abilitv to clireclttlestructiveviolcncc to thc A.sa matter of [act, erxternalviolcncc is antithetical to havoc sac'rifice or the fcstival, whosc violencc u'clrks tlestrovs that lr,ithin. Only rtiigion cltsurcs a consttmptictn attion thc very sttltstanccclf tl.roservhom it movcs' Armcd tlestrovsothcrs or thc u.ealthof
51

'F ] L

tsASII]

I]AIA

c an l)ri l tg i t t< l b e a r o n th t. o u ts i < l t, ani l i t i s thcn that i t bc gin sto rl t' r.t' l < li1tst i .o n s c q u t,n c .t,s. In deadh. battlcs, in massacrt.sanrl pillagcs,it has a rneaningakin to that of fi,stivals,in that thc cnc,mr.is not trcatctl as a thing. llut u.ar is not limitc
58

From

the Unfettered

the F ettering

Violence of Wars to

of Man-as-Contmodity

This lalse anrl sr,rperficialcharactcr has sc'rionsconscquenccs. War is not limitccl to fbrrns o[ uncalculated havoc. Although ht- rcmains hrnt.rrilvand fclr a givcn time'. C)nlv the slavr',u.hom thc nrilitan' or-dcrhas maclc a comnroclitr',
;e

HE

BAS]C

t]ATN

surr('ndcrs thc slave, rvhclsc scrr.itudc ac.centuatesthc dcgrarlationof the-human or
of sacrilice,is not satisfiecl intcrnal violencc,the t-sserncc bv it. Intensc consulnption requires victims at thel top

of unfcttcred violencc.

rvho arc not onlv the uscful lr'calth of a pcoplc, but this

In gcneral,human sacriflceis the acutc stagcof a clis_ pute setting the movcmcnt of a measurclessviolcnce againstthc real ordt'r and duration. It is the most radical

peoplc itself; or at lcast, clcmcnts that signifv it and that uill be dcstined lbr sacrifice,this time not orving to an alit-nation from the sacrerlu'orlcl - a flall- but, quitc thc

contcstation of the primac.vof utilitv. It is at the same timc the highest de.greeof an unleashing of intcrnal vio_

(ontrar\, orl'ing to an cx(cptional prclximitv, sr-rchas the

lence. The society in u-hich this sa..riflcerages mainlv afllrrns the rejection of a disequilibrium nf th" trr,, ,,lu-

perfbrrnanccclf a sacrificetu'ice clvcr).

lences. He u.ho unlcasheshis lorccs of destruction on ther outside cannot be sparingof his resourccs.If he reduccs the enc.mvto slar,cry,he must, in a spcctacularfhshion, make a glorious use of this nc\\. sourcc of rvcalth. IJc must partlv
sovc'rcignor thc children (u'host'ki[ling finallv realizcsthc One could not go further in the dcsireto consumcthe life substancc.Indecd, one coukl nclt go morc recklcssly than this. Such an intensc movemcnt of consumption rcsponds to a movcment of malaisc bv crcating a greater malaise.It is not thc apogce ol a rcligious svstem, but rathcr the moment rvhcn it condemns itself: r'vhcnthe old fbrms har"elost part of their virtuc, it can maintain itself onlv thnrr,rghcxcesscs,through inn
thing. It shoulclnot be confusedu,ith thc movcmcnts of l'iolencethat har,er the outsidc, the encmv, as their obiect. ln t lr i s r(.s p c (t th r.s a tri fi rt, ,rf ,r s l.rrc i * l ar l rom h.,i nt purer.In a senseit is an cxtcnsionof militarv combat, and

60

6l

P. nl T w c t

R el i gi on Li m i ts

F ro m to

W i thi n of

R eas on

tl-rc Militarv Inrl ustrial

the

Orrler Grou.th

C tt .t t''t t, tt I The

M ilit ar l'O r cler

From a Balance of Resour ces ar r d E xpendi t ur es Forces with

t o t he Accum ulat ion a View to Their

of

Growth

Human sac'rific'etcstifies at thc same tinrc tcl an cxct'ssof' neal th an r l t o a ven'painf ul uav of spcnclingit . I t gcner allv led to the'conoscsthat violcr.rc'rto thc extt-nt it can. Antl it suborclinates thc clivrrsionto a rcal t'ntl. It

65


things lit into the order that bclongsto thcrl; it is itsclf thc ordcr of things.rnd it is a univcrsalthing. At this lercl, the thing that cannot have a sovcreigncharactcr cannot havc a subordinatr:clraractcrcitlrer, sincc irt theorv it is an opcration der.clopeclto thc limit of its possibilities.At tht- limit, it is no longcr a thing, in that it bears rvithin it, beyond its intangiblc qualitit's,an opening to all that is possible.But in itself this opening is a voicl.lt is onlv the thing at the momcnt rvhen it is undone, rcvealing thc impossibilitv of infinite subordination. But it consttmes itself in a sovercignu'av.For ('sscntiallvit is alual's a thing, ancl thc movcmcnt clf consumJrtionmust (omc to it li'om

organizcsthc viekl of *'ars into slavcs,that of slavcsinto lalmr. It nrakcsc'onquesta mctho<1ical cipcration,for thc

tht' outsicle.

grou'th of an cmpire.

Law an d M or alit y Tht: ermpirc,bcing tht- universal thing (rvhose universalitv

Positing

of an Empire

as

rcveals the void ). insofar as its t-ssenc'cis a divcrsicltrof

the Universal Thing 'l'he empirc submits from thc start to thc primacv of thc real orrlc'r. It posits itst-lf e-ssentiallv as a thing. It ,ub,rr-

violcncc to thc otrtsitle,neccssarilvdevt'lclpsthe larv that


r.ioletrctr.

cxist at its fronticr as an cqual. liverv prcscnc'earounrl it

them eachinrlividual-as-thing)rvith othcrs anrlgtrarantces bv the sanctionof public firrt c. But hcre lau' is onlr' .rtlotrb-

is or
ensures the stabilitv of the order of things. In fact, larv gives thc attacks against it thc sancti
let of thc moralitl' that guarantcestht' s.rmc rt'lations llv thc sanrtion of an itrtt'rnalviolcnte of thc irltlividual.

61

-

Cu, qp r l: R I I

Larv and moralitv also have their placc in the empire in that thcv rlefine a universalncccssity of tht: rclation of Dualism

each thing r,r'ith thc othcrs. But tl-rc po\\'cr of moralitv

and

M or alit y

rermainsforcign to the svstem basedon extcrnal violcncc. Moralitv only touches this s1'stcmat thc border r.vhere lar'r'is integratcd. And thc connection of the one and thc other is thc middle terrn bv r.vhich oner gocs from the empirc to thc outsicJc,from the outside to the cmpirc. The Positing Shifting

and the

of Dualism

of the

of the Borders

Sacred and the Profane In a u'orlcltlominatc
6lJ

69

7

('ontagionth.rt uhich it t:ttmesclost' to, that thc bcncflbt'ttvt'cnthc profanc rvirits

tusc'lcss cclnsumpticlr.lJut it lrccclrncspossiblconlt' *hcn

thc unleashingof rlirint' lbrtes - ancl sct'tn lcss sacretlin comparisonuitlr tl'rc tlark tlt-itics. 'l'his earlr shift scts tl'rc stagt' fbr a clt'cisivt'changc.


sclvcreigntr',in thc
Rcflectir,cthought
dir.ineover tht- real,mar-rhad in practic'csuborclinaterl thc

ctv or bctr'r,eenintlividuals thcmselvt-s.Theserobligaton' relations arc t'sst'ntiallvthose that cnsurc the
sanctionof thc real orclcr tl.ratmrtralitv constitutcs,pro-

rhings.Thcv somctitnc-stakt' up prohibitions that u'cre establisht'd bl' tht' itrtintatc ordcr (sr.ri:has d're onc ftrr-

to the univcrsalclrder of rt-ason.ln rt'alitr', rcason is thc

hidding murclcr). Btrt rtroralitv chooscsfrom amrlng the rules of the intim.rtt'or
opcration (of action). Rcason ancl mclralitv unite
llot slll)port, thosc ltrohibiticrtr' runir,crsal

antl opcrat i<) n,agr ( '( 'nit h t he
of thc mvthir'.rlortlcr. Antl t'rcn if it gcts part of tht' lans fnrr.n rcligitln, it grtluncls thcm, like thc- otht'rs, it
nal i zcand m or alizcr lir init r ',in t ht ' r 't 'n'nr or cm t 'ntu'hcr c

Moralitv lavs it links tht'nr t
ln this u'av thcrc app('ar thc clt'rnc'ntso1'thc u'orkl

prclfane uorld, that cnsr.trethc
clivir.rcto thc rcal. I Ie slou'h' rccluccdits r.iolcnccto thc ridcd that thc rcal orclcr confonns, prt-r'isclvin moralitl', univcrsalfirrm of thc thing (i
scalc of r,alucsof thc intimatc ordcr, n'hich placeil the highcst valuc on that 'nvhosemt'aning is gircn in the

Yalu('s.

moment. It con
thc u'orltl, prcclicatcdon the animal intimaur of rnan ar.rcl

b l o o tl s a c ri fl c c ... ). [t trl n d c m ns, i n a gencral l vav, al l

rl enccof t hc objcct ,uhich hasr r
1(l

1l

In thc tirst rcprt'scntaticln,the irnnrancnt sacrcrl is n'hereasdre prolanc u'orlcl is prcdicatcdon tht' transcen-

Y

kincl is immanent. In the manipulation of objccts and,

The Negation

of the Immanence

generallv, in rclatiotrs u'ith objects, or nith

of the Divine

and lt s Posit ing

subiccts

in t he

rcgar
Transce ndence

implicit but linkc
Thc moment of changc is givcn in a passage:thc intclligiblt' sphcrt' is rt'r'ealed in a transport, in a su
reasoll and moralitr'. 'fhe sacrcd is itsclf dividccl: thc dark and malcfic sacrt'd is opposc
of Reason

movcment o[ transc'trrdcncc, u,ht're tangiblc mattt'r is surpasscd.Thc intcllcct rtr thc (.onccpt,situate
to thc inrlistinctionrlf tinct lbrms of the objcct u'crc joine<1

int'onclusivctransccnclcnccof thc divine of archaic religion. The
thc intimatc or
(of violcncc,of thc scream,of bt'ing in cruption, blirrrlanrl

bt'ncficentan
transcendent,this nas in a ltror,isionalu,ar',for m.rn nho ac'tc
tcr, u'ht'rc thc tangiblc fcrrnr is somctimcs altprt'hcnsiblt: (in its idcntit_yn.ith itsclf an
unintclligiblc, of thc clark and malcfic sacrcd);if it uas

irrtimatc onler. This secclndarytransccn
in its opcrativepou'c'r),and
lixrndlv cliffcrcnt from that ol thc intclligiblt. rrorlrl,


ulrich rt'm.rins./orercrsc'par.rtcrlfr-ornthc uorkl of thc'

chance,r'iolt:nce,att
scnses.Tl.rctransccndcncccif a morr ratlicalrlualisnris thc fr
opcrativefirrms.

t[rc'lcaring of this u orkl, tht' lcaring of tht' u.orld, [rcr-iorl - lirr, opposite thc sclrsuousuorl<1,thc intt'lligibk' uorkl

7)

7)

7

SM

is not so much a
14

AND

MORAL

TY

outcomc of thc opcration. But u.hilc thc inclividualthat he is cannrt lea'e this *'or[cl rlr corllcct hirnsclf*ith that n,hich goes be1'ondhis or.r,nlimits, hc glimpsesin the sucl_ den au.akeningthat rvhich cannot be graspcdbut u,hic:h slips awav precisclv as a d61dyu. For him this d6jd vu is uttcrlr, different from that rvhich he sees,u,l.richis alu,avs separatedfrom him - anclfbr thc samc rcason from itsclt. It is that rvhich is intclligibleto him, u.hich au.akcnsthe recollectionin him, but u.hich is immediatelvlost in thrin'asion of scns.rv data, rvhich reestablishseparatiorr.r.r all sirles.This separatebcing is precisclva th;ng in that it is separatedfrom itself-:rr is thc thing anclthc sc1;aration, but .ref is cln thc (.ontrarv an intimacv that is n()t .\r,p.r_ ratcrl frorr anvthing (cxcept that rvhich .scparatc.s it.sclf. from this intimaq., thu.sir, and u,ith it thc rrholc rrorl
Exclusion

of the Tangible World and the Violence of Transcendence A great virtuc in the paracloxof a transcentlenct
R F L I 'J I O N

WI T H l N

TIlF

L {M l TS

OI

RI

movemt-r)tin nhich it is gilt'n. In lact it is in learing thc u'ori
'l'hc u'eakncssof sacrific'e' u'as that it e'r'entuallvlost its jrrst virtue and finallv establishcdan onlt'r of sac'rt'dtliinri.s, as st'rrile as that of rcal objects. fh.. dcep afflnnation of sacrifict:, thc affinnation of a dangcrous so','e'reigntvof violt'ncc, at least tenrlctl to maintain an anguish that

als o ,q l i n rp s c d .l l la t o Irc e ,i u th e auakuri ng, a l l ttrc ttrri l tn'orld, a tlcstruc'tionat tclligibilitv) is, u'ithin the sctrsuotts

brought a longing fcrr intirnac! to an arvakencdstatc, on

once too crtmplctc antl impoter-rt.

a lcvel tcl u,hich violcncc alone has thc filrcc tcl raisc us.

Doubdcss the clestructionof thc thing in thc' archait' u'orld hacl an oppositc virtuc and impotence. It did not

But if it is true tl.ratan cxc't-ptionalviolcnce is rcleascclin

tlestrov the thing univcrsallv b-v a single operation; it (lcstrove(lthe thing takcn irl isolation,hv thc ncqationthat is tiolence,that rs inrpersclnallt'in the n'or,ld.Nou', in its negato is no lcss o1l1l
transct'ndcnccat the momcnt of its mlcncccannot lrt- maintaincrllirr long - thc positingof the'
aclvancc.It undotrbtedh'has thc samc intention as archai.' sacriticc,nhich is, lbllouing an incltrt'tatrlcdcstinr, at the

and u.hich onlv sleephclps onc to tolerate)of the lr'orlcl's

sametime to lift and to Prescrvethe orclerof things.tlut if of its rt'al it lifts that order, it is by raisingit to thc negatior.r

rvorld, of u.hich one is at thc same timc that of goo

thcre is gir,cn,u'ithout opposition, an empirc of thc rcal

unleashing),to the sanctionof thc ordcr of things' Like ther opcration clf sacritic'c,it cloesnot c'ondctntr,in themsclvcs,

in which free violcncc has onlv a ncgatile plac'c.

division betrvc'cntu'o principles, both includc'rl in this the mind, and the other that of evil ancl matter. Henct' ordcr that is a sovereigntl'of scn.itudc. A u,orlcl is tleflnccl

the lirnitcd unlt'ashingsol de.facto violcncc, u'hich havc rights in thc rvorld next to tl'reorder of things,bLrtdcllnes thctr as cril as s
76

l1

C ttAI,tt,n

lll

M cd i a ti o n

The Gener al Weakness of M or al and the Strength

Divinit v

of Evil

Prt-cisch' bccausc a',r'akcningis thc meaning of rlualism, the inevitablt' slet'o that fbllrl*'s it rcir.rtroducesevil as a major force. The llatness tcl u'l.rich a dualism n'itl'ror,rt transccnrlcncc is limiterl opens up the mir.rd to tl.rc sovcrcigrrtvof cvil nhich is thc unleashingof violcnct'. The sor,ercigntr'of gooclthat is inrplicil bv thc au'akening anrl rcalize
apparcnth'infc'ri
he excludcsviolcncc, anrl hc is divinc, open to intimacr',

itv from cclntinuing tcl livc urrrlcr tl.rcir po\\'('r. Scvt'ral

onll' insofar as hc in lact prcscn,cs thc old violencc r.r'ithin

forms arc possiblc:a cult of cxt'crationof a violcnccconsirl-

him, rvhich he does not havc the rigor to excluclc,and tcr

t'rcd to bc irrt'rluciblt'can capture thc intcrt'st of a blind

this cxtcr-rtht' is not the gocl of rcason,u,hich is thc truth

consc'iousness; an
of gooclncss.In thcorv this involves a u.eakcningof the

execrationimplies a completeopcning to cvil, u ith a vicu'

moral divine in favor of ervil.

to a subscquentpurification;or t'r'il,t'r'ilas such,c'anrcvcal t
The Mediation

of Evil and

than gootl. [Jut thc cliff'crc-ntfrlr-ns of tht' rlualistic attituclc

the Impotence

of the Avenging

nocr of'flr anvthing but a slippervpossibilitvto thc mind

A first mediation of o'il has alu.avs been possible.I1,

(ll'hich must alu'avs ans\\'cr at thc samc tinte tcl ttvo ir-

before mv cvcs, the real forc'csof cr,il kill mr' lricnd, the

reconcilablc clcmands: lift anrl preserve thc orrlcr of

violcncc introclucesintimacr, in its most active fclrn. In

t hin g s ).

thc statc of opennessin r.r'hichI find mvself due to a vio-

A richer possibilitv,providing adequatedisplaccmcnts u'ithin its limits, is givcn in mediation.

God

lcnce undergone, in thc mournful rer,elation of clcath, I am in accord lr'ith thc divinit-vof goodncssthat condemns

The major r,vcaknerss of dualism is that it offt'rs no

a cruc'l act. In thc divine disorcler of crimc, I call for the

legitimatc place fcrr violencc cxccpt in the moment of

violcncc that lvill restore therdcstrovccl
of rational exclusionof thc scnsuous purc transcenclt-ncc,

ity it is not violencc but crimc that has opencd clivinc

r'r'orld.But thc' clivinitv of the good cannot bc maintainctl

intimacv to mc. And, insofar as the vcngcancedoes not

at that clegreeof pr,rrity;indeed, it lalls back into thc sen-

bccomc an extension of thc irrational r,iolence of thc

suousu,'orld.It is the object, on thc part of thc belit'ver,

crime, it rvill cluicklv closc that r,vhichcrime oPcnccl.For

of a scarchfor intimate communication,but this thirst lbr

onlv r,engeancethat is c'ommandedbv passionand a taste

intimacv r'r.ill nevcr bc cluenched.The good is an cxclu-

for untrammcled violenceis dil'inc. Thc rcstorati
sion of violcncc and therc can be no brcakingof the onler

lau'ful order is essentiallvsubordinatc'dto profane realitl'.

of scparatcthings, no intimacy, rvithclut r.iolencc;thc gocl

Thus a first possibilitv of mcdiation manifests thc cxccp-

of gcxrdness is limitcd bv right to the r,iolcnc'cnith u'hich

tkrnally slipperv naturc of a god of goodncss:hc is dir,iner

80

8l

in cxcluclingvicllencelx violcncc (anclhc is lcss so than

gootl has clcflncdas such is cxtt'rnal to thc moral divinitr'.

thc cxcluderl violcncc, uhicl'r is thc neccssarvmc(liation

Thc onc u,ho r-rndr-rgocs thc violcnce o[ cvil can also bc

of his divinit,v),but he is divint' onlv insofaras l-rcopposes

callc
rcasonantl tl'rcgoocl;anclif he is a pur(' rationalmoralitv, hc ou'cs his rcmaining rlir.initv to a name, ancl to a propensitv to enrlurc or.r tl.rc part of that u'hich is not

narr'-r'ic'tim of evil, rvho invokcd the gclrl of vcngcancc, coukl not rcccive this namc since hc hacl inl'oluntarilv

dcstrovcd from tht' outsidc.

unrlcrgont' tl'rc violenc'cof mcrliation. Br-rtthc divinitr'

The Sacrifice

intcntionallr, in,r'okcs crimc; mcdiation is the ioint accomplishmcntof violenccanclof thc being that it rcnds.

of the Divinitv

In thc sccond lorm of mcdiation thc violencc comcs to

In realitv the sacrific'cof'the moral rlirinitv is never

thc divinitv from thc outsiclc.It is the divinitv itsclf that

the unf-athomablernr-'stervthat onc usr.rallvimagines.What

undcrgocs it. As in thc positing ol a god of r,t'ngeancc, crimt'is nccessarvfirr the rcturn of tht intimatc orrler. If

is sacrillcetl is niat serrc-i,and as soon as sovcrcigntv

tht're u'as onh' man, of tl'rcorder of things,and the moral

is reduced to serving thc ordcr of things, it can be

not be ablc both to lift ancl to preserve that ordcr. The

re'storeclto thc divine.ordcr onlv through its destruction, as a thing. 'l'his assumesthe positing of thc clivinc in a bcing capablc of being really (phvsicallv) cloneran'av r,r'ith. 'fhe violence thus lifts an
r,iolcnccof o'il must intcn'cne firr thc orrlcr to be liltctl

irrcspcctil'c of a vengcanccthat mav or ma1.not bc pur-

through a clcstruction,but thc ollered victim is itself the

sucd. In dcath thc divinitv accepts the sovereigntrr,rth of


an unleashingthat overturns thc orclcr of things, but it

1'hc principlc of mcdiation is givt n in thc sacriflct' u'ht're thc offcring is
tleflccts the r,iolcncc onto itsclf ancl thus no krngcr scn'e's

thc rcturn of the intimatc order. But in the me
selvesare.

tlivinitv, tht're coulrl not be anv tlccp communication bctn'ccn them. Man includi:din thc ordcr of things w'ould

sacriflccthc sac'rifict'r'sact is not, in theon, oltytciscd to

that ordcr: it ceasesto be er.rslar.ed to it as things thcmIn this n'av it clcvatcstht- sovcrcigngo
thc rlirini' ordt'r, tl.rt'natur(' o1'uhich it t'xtcnrls inrme-

rcason,abovc thc consen'ativean
diatclv. Hou'cvcr, thc crimc that a uorkl of thc sovcrcign

the u'orld of things. C)r rather it makt's these'intclligiblc

lJ2

8l

RELIGION

WI T I ] L N

fHE

L IM

S

OF

R EASC ) N

fbnns that lrhich thc rnovcrncnt of transcendcnccmade them: an intclligible l-rcr,onrlof bcing, v.hereit .srruare.r lntlmoc,t.

cncluringthat is govemed bv the operation. At thc same timc it is posited as thc result of opc-rationsanalogousto thosc of the rcal ordcr ancl pursued in that order.

llut the sacrifice of the clivinitv is muc_-h more i.lost,h. ticd to the .qeneralcxclusion clf the given r,i,,lencesthan

rcal x'orld onlv in a supcrficial rval'. Unclcr tht. sorcr-

uas transccnclence,u'hosc nroventent of vicllence lr.as

cigntv ol moralitv, all the operationsthat claim to cnsurc

gir,cn indepcn
thc return of thc intirnatt: order arc thosc that the rcal

tlre tlivinity could not have torn itsclf arvav from the oriler of things rs rcjectt'rl as bcing somethingthat ntust 'fhc ccasc. clirinitr' rt'mains rlir,int-onh through that nhich it t ondcn-rns.

In actual fict the intimate ordcr is subordinatcrlto the

u'orlJ reqr-rirt-s:the extcnsive prohibitions that arc giren as the precondition frtr thc return are aime-dprimarilv at prcsen'ingthc disordcr of the u orld of things. In the end, the rnan of salvationclid morc to bring thc principlcs of the orclcr of things into the intimatc order than to subordinate that productive ordcr to thi. tlcstructilc con-

The Div'ine

Deliv,ered

sumptions clf thc intirnate-ordcr.

Over to the Operation

So this r,vorld of mcdiation and of rvorks of salvation

Thc paradox of a nrediation that shoulclnot har.ebecn dot's not rcst mcrelv on an intcrnal contrarlic.tion.In a gcne'ralrva1.,it controls thc contrarlictioninr.olvt:din thcr lilting anrl maintcnancr ol tht' real orde.r.'fhrough mediation thc rcal orclcr is subordinated to thc scarch lbr Lrst intimac'v,l:lut the profoLrnd.scparationbctw'crn intimar.r anrl things is succ.ceclc-d lrv a multiplic.itv oi r..,rnftrsions.

is lcd trom the start to erxceedits limits. Not onl_varc thc vicllcncers that moralit_vcon
Intintacv - s.rlvation- is rcgartlt:d as a tl-ringcharactcrizc
u4

lJ5

CH, qpl'r , n I V The

The Positing

Rise

of

I ndust r y

of a Conplete

R el ati on s Bet wet n

Divine

Lack of I nt im acv

and

the R eal O r der -l'hc u'orld rcthan thc satislactionof desircin the monrent.To bt' exact, nonprodr.rctivcu'orks clo rese'rvca margin of s.-ttisfaction in this u'orltl. It is mcritrlrious to irrtroclucca rellcction o[ the divine splt'ndors (that is, of intirlacv) here bclou.. Nolr', besiclcsthc merit that is attributcrl tcr it, this act has its valuc in thc momt'nt. Btrt sccing that cach possibilitymust bc subordinatedto thc busincssof salvrtion, the contrarliction betu'ccn thc mcritorious act

u7

and thc divine splcn
tion, tht' transcr-nrlcncc
nroral uork, justificrl bv rt'asor.r.

thought l}om thc prison of thc scnsuousu,orl
Th t' t' ffc c t o f rv o rk si s c v t' n tu al l vto rci l uc' t' rl i ri ni tr' -

mt'diation that rlclircrs the
an< lth e rl e s i rr-l b r rl i v i n i tr' - o n (c a gai nt< ithi nghoorl .-l ' hc

i ntro< l utest hc poucr lt 'ssncss of uor ks onlr . bccauscof t ht '

basicoppositionbt'tu ccn thc't'tnccn

absurdi tr of aban
rlivir.ri'intimac\.an(lthc u
cannot p<-rsit dirint' intimacv unlcssit is in thc ll.rrticrular, u'ithout dclav, as thc possibilitr.of an immancnct' of thc

the nt'gationof the valtrcof rvorks- in thc aflirmatiorrof a complctc abst'r.tt't' of rclations lrt'tut'r'n rlivinc qrarc an

rational cxclusicinof tht: scnsuousu.'orll an
of the bcvonclan
t ion ri f th c rl i v i n i tr'- i s th c th i rd u av i n u hi ch tht' di r i nc i s

bclou' is re
urt'nclic
be brought into it - as it rvasin tht: nronumentsancl thc

ablt' rclirsalmakcs one think of the fcroln'ho lumpc
religiousfcstivitics.

u'orks is thc krgical criticisnr of tl.r' cornpromist's
insof-aras man ties himself entirclv to the rcal onler, inso-

uorltl of'mt'rliation,but it is not a c'omplctecriticism.Thc

far as hc limits himsclf to planning operations.Ilut it is

th a t rc s t' n c s thc rcturn of krst i nti pr in ri p l c o f' s a l v a ti o r.r

not a qut-stion of shor'r'ingthc por'r'crlessness of the man

macv lirr thc firtLrrt'and tbr thc u'
of ',r'orks; it is a question of tearing lrrdn awa\' lrom the

misst'sthc csscnceof thc rcturn, u.hich is nclt onlr that it

ordcr of lr,orks. And prcciselv the' opposite is accom-

, . anb t' s u b o n l i n a tc rlto th a t n h i c h i t i s not, but that i t can

plishcrl bv thc ncgation of thcir valur, u'hich surrcntlers

onlv bc givcn in tltc momcnt - anrl in thc immant,nct'of

and cclnfinesnlan to them, changing thcir meaning. Tht'

thc hcrc-bclo\\'.. . . T'o uphol
ncgation of their valuc replacesthc lr'orld of norks sub-

nc x t u rl rl d a n rl to rt' p tr< l i a tc u o rks i s tr>fi rrgt' tthat i nti -

ordinated to the intimate ordt'r rvith a u'orld in rvhich

rna(\' can lrc ri'g..rincrl onlv lirr rnc - if thc tuo t('rms arc

thcir sovereigntvis consummated,a u'orlcl of nclrks har,-

thc ncgationol thc valucclf rvorkscon'r1tlt'tcs thc scparation

It is the most lreccssarl rcnuneiation in one scnsc:

present- not intinracv u'ithotrt r.nr'.What tlclcsrt'storcrl

ing no other purposc than its ou,n dcvclopmcnt. Con-

int im a c r n rc a ni n i ts c l f i f i t c s i ' a p csmc?' l ' hrouqhrccol l cc' -

scquenth',production alone is accessiblcand u'orthv of

88

89

lllN

THE

L

M tTS

OF

l - IEAS( JN ]ISF

intercst h.rc-br'lo*'; the principlt' of rlt,'.nP.
IIiDUST RY

rlas rccluircrl fbr the rational org.rrrizaticinof ln cnrpirc, .r.s con('crnsthe use
View, of the

Re l a ti o n s o f P ro d u c ti o n Nonproductive

OF

nonproductircexpentlintre. to

Destruction

What this ncgation of tht, tlivinc r.aluc of u.orks nrakcs possi[rlcis thc rcign of autonontousthings _ in a u.rlrrl, thc l'orld of i'<|"rstrv.Irr art,haies.r.it,t\,,tht.rctirallv, thc rr orlrl of thinqs rr-.r.s giverras an cncl lbr intintatc vicllt_nce, but i t c o u l rl b c th a t e n rl o n l r.o n onc conrl i ti on: that thi s bc considerc,l.,,r...cign, th,rt it lrt. thc rcal c'rl. ''iolc'rcc l ht ' ttrtt,,' rrrl ,r' l l ro rl trtl i ' n * a r onl ' an .l nxi ' rrs r(.s(,r-\Jtiorr; in realitr,, protluction ,,n, rul.or,l,,uotcJ t,t nonproducti.e Jc.rrrtrct rott. l'r thr: nrilitarr. ordt'r, thr- arailablc r(.sorrr(.(,s of the u'orld of things u.crc allor.att,d,in principle,to tht, gron.th of an cn-rpirc.projcc.tingbevonclthc c.loscrl..r,rnrrirnitics tou'arcl thc unir,crsal. llut militarv activitv onl\ airns to givc-thc order of t lr in g s .c rrl r rr. .r rrrri t.r.s r l ll i ,rm a n,l , al tr.,. .Solong as tlrc linrits of thc enrpir(,rvcr(,rrot rt,achcrl, protluction had militan' forcc as its prinrarr. cnrl, arrrl u'hcn thesc linrits n'crc, rcac.hctl,militarv forr.c u.as pushcclinto thc backgr,rlrn..l. Mort,rlrrr, ..r.:r.1rtfirr u,hat

90

C)nce the Iimit of grorrth u,as rca<,hetl,mcn. of archaicsocictv continut'rl,but uhcrcas in archaicsoc.ictv the
Rf

t !r'r,::,::':

I

IGION

WI T H I N

THE

I

I M I TS

Of

FFASON

ol- t he pr oducti ve op er at i on g ener alh' domi not ed r',',

Consecluently,mcrclv bv disputing thc value of the ope-rationinsof-aras its e.fferct\\rassupposed t
of Complete

Reduction,

It soon bccamcapparcntthat bv bccomingman of thc autonomous thing, man nas ber'oming more estrangerl from himsclf than o'cr bcfbrc. This cornpletescissionsurrcnrlereclhis lifi' to a lnor.cmt'ntthat hc no longercontrollecl, a movcment lvh
or , th e R e i g n o f T h i n g s

rational (morc effcc'tir.efrom thc stanclpoint of der,.clopment) bv rcr.olutionarvmcans. But no onc clisputcsthe

Thc millcnial qucst for lost intimac'r. r,r,asabancloned bv

principlc of this sovercigntl'of sen,iturle.

productive mankind, an'are of the futilitt of the operatir.e u.ays, but unable to continue searching for that lr.hich

IndeecJ,nothing can ber opposcd to it that might dcstroy it. For nonc of thc former sovereign entitics is

could not bc sought merelv bv the means it had. Man bcgan to sav: "Lct us construct a lr.orld u.hosc

able to step fcrrrvarclancl sclvercignlysav: "You r,r.illserve m e.tt

procluctir.e forces grclu' morc ancl more. Wc shall meet mclre ancl more of our matcrial nccds."

The majority of mankinclhas gir.en its conscnt to the industrialentcrprise,and u.'hatpresumLrs to go on existing

92

9l

alongsidcit givt-sthe imprcssion of a clcthroncclsovercigrr.

closclr tic
It is clear that thc majoritv of mankincl i.sright'.compared

nothing br,rtthc autonomv of thc consciousncss of things.

to thc industrial rise, thc rcst is insignificant.I)oubtlcss

Although consciousncssturncd au'ay from thc intimate

this majoritv has let itsclf be reducedto the orderof things.

order, r.vhich, as far as knorvledge goes, is thc orclcr of

But this generalized reduction, this perfcct firlf'illment of

mvthologv, it could not bc a clcar consciousncssof

the thing, is the ncccssarycondition lbr the c:onsciousantl

objects so long as it u'as deltendenton mvthical detern.ri-

fully do.elopeclposingo[thc problem of man's reduction

nations. In thc first cclnception,n'hcrc the tclol cstab-

to thinghood. Onlv in a u,orld r,r,herethe thing has

hshcd thc transcentlenccof thc object, it uas onlv in thc

reducccl crven'thing, r,r.hercu hat r.r.'as oncc opposed to it rcvcalsthe povcrtv of equivocalpositions- and incvitablc

rlefinerlits confuse
shifts - can intimac'yaffirm itself *'ithout anv morc com-

pt-rccir,cdin a scparate(transcenrlent)u.ay: thc distinct

promiscs than thc thing. Only thc gigantic rlcvclopmcr.rt ol thc means of procluction is capalrlcof fullv rcvcaling

cclnsciousness of the object lvas still nclt free clf thc st'nti-

thc meaning of procluction, u,hich is tl're nclnproductivc consumption of u.ealth- thc fulllllment of scf-consciou.rness

was at least separatcdfrom rcflcction on consciousness

iIr the lrec outbursts of thc intimate orrlcr. Br"rtthe momcnt

thcn cntirclr:'consumcdbv anguish,obscssccl bv thc fccl-

u'hcn cclnsciousncss, rcllectingback on itself,rcrcals itself

ing of thc sacrccl.Thus the clear consci<)usncss of objccts

to itsclf anrl sccs pr<xluctiondcstint'clto be consumt'd is

\vas gi\,en onlv to the extt'nt that mclst of tht' attenticln

preciselvu'hcn the u'orlcl of prclductionno krnger knous

u,as drarvn au.av from thcm. l'he imprlrtance of clperative

n'hat to do u'ith its proclucts.

forms and the development of manulacturing techniques

object. So it vvasnot a c'lcarconsciousncss of therobject

ment of self. When attention u,as focused on sacrifice, thc profanc thing, on thc intimacv of sacrificc, but it u,as

in the movemcntstl'ratucrc aimcclat an impcrial (r,rr"rivcrT he C l e a r C o n s c i o u s n e s s o f

sal) organizationbrought back a part of the attention tcr

Things,

the u.orld of things. It rvas lr,hcn attcntion u,as clircctcrl

or, Science

Thc conclitior-rfor achier,ingclear sclf-cclnsciousness is scicnce, uhich is the attainment of a clear consciousness of t hc rc a l o rrl c -r(i .c ., o f th t' u ' o rl tl of obj tcts). S ci cncci s

mainl", to things that gcncral lrccdom and tht' t ontradic:tion of jucJgmcntsbccamc possiblc. Human thought escapedthe rigid rleterminationsof thc mvthical orcler

95

r

and got rkllr'n to the u'ork of scicr.rcr',u'hcrt' objccts are

intimacy, but thc goocl u,ill that rcccivcs thcm is aln ar,s

clcarlv and distinctlv knoun. Prccisc claritr. u'as thus

rnixcd rvith disappointment. FIolr. meek these voices

brought into consciousncss and it organizcdthc rational

sccm. l'lorv defcnsclesstheir cquivocations leave us, laccd

llut as thc instrurncnt of knonlmodes of consciousness.

u,ith thc clcar cxpression of rcalitv. Authoritv

cdge developcd,pcoplc tricd to trscit to examincthc inti-

authenticitv arc entirclv on the side of things, of produc-

matc ordcr. In this u.av clear consciousnt-sslvas gir,e'na hvbritl contcnt. 'l'ht' intimatc order, fundamentallvunreal,

tion and consciousncss of the thing produced.All thc rcst

aclaptcdits arbitran mvthical rcprcscntations to the logi-

This uncqual situation linallv posr.s the problem in clerartenns. 'l'he intimate ordcr is not reached if it is not

cal forms of thc consciousncss of clbjects.lt thus introduce
and

is vanitv and confirsion.

ilccisionsthat do not expressd'rt:intimatc ordcr itself but

erlcr.aterd to thc authenticitv and authoritv of the real u,orld and rcal hr.rmanitv.'l'his implics, as a matter of fact,

thc compromist'sthat cnablc it to rcmain intimate rrhilc

thc rcplacement of compromises bv a bringing of its con-

submitting to thc principlt'sof the real onler. It uas onh'

te'nts to light in the clomain of clear and autonomous

uith thc complete scissionof thc intimate an
consciousncss that sciencchas organizt-d.It implies SHI-F-

and in the u'orlcl of thc autonomous thing, that scicnce

CONSCIOUSNESStaking up the lamp that sciencchas

sloulv cscapcd from the hvbrirl fbrmr.rlationsof con-

maclc to illuminatc objects an
sciousness.But in its complctt' succcssit c'onsummatt's

intimacy.

man's cstrangcmentlrclm himsclf anclrcalizt's,in the cast' of thc scicntist,thc re
Self-consciousn

Thus knou'lt-dgc and activitv,
Thc authcnticitvof a usc of scienccadaptedto a knou'lerlgc

uithclut subordinatingthcmsclvcsto one anotl'rcr,finallr.

of tht.intimatt'orrlcr immecliatclvrulcs out thc possibilitv

cstablish a real, consummat(' u'orkl anil humanitv, fbr

of giving a lcarnt.rlfclnn to thc autonomousdcclarationsof

rvhich the intimatc ordcr is rt'presentedonlr, through

mcn or intimacv. In thc rclationship bt-tuecn otrjcctive

prolongcd stammcrings. Thesc stammcrir.rgsstill have an

knoulcdge anrl intimacr-'thcrc is doubdessa primarv
uncommon filrcc bccauscthcv still havc tht. r'irtuc of gen-

tcrcnce: thc objcct can aluavs cxpcct thc light that uill

crallv opposingthc rt'alitv principlc uith drc principlc of

illuminatc it u hcrt'asintimac'r'scckingthc light cannot ('x-

e6

91

ess

RFL

GION

WI f

HIN

THE

IIMITS

OF

R EASON RISF

OF

INt)LJST RY

corrt'ctlr. tl thc rt'.storationof'tht' IX'(t it to bc prcljcc'tt'
it implics the h,r'pothesis positior.rs; fbrrnulatc,
sciousncss,r hich alonc has thc filrct' tcl rcscue intimacv

consciousncss cannot clcarlr,and distinctlv knorv anvthing

it still cannot bt' achit'rc
concerning intimacl', cx(,ept fbr thc mocliflcationsof things that are linkccl to it." (We rlon't ftnon.anr.thing

is involvcd, intimac'vuill appcarto llc clcar consci<)usn(-ss 'l'ht' immt'tliatelr gir cn in the sphcrcof tlistinct knou lctlge. rlifllcultr, of making rlistint't knon'lctlgc atrd th.' intimatc

corrccrninganguishexccpt insof-aras it is implie.din thc fait of' the inrpo-ssi61c operation.)Self-c.
orclcr coinc'iclcis clueto their contrar\.modcs of cxistence in tinre. l)ir ine lif-eis imnrc
cscal)csthc clilcmmaof tlre sirlultaneousrequirt,nrcntof immediacv an
non-knouledge thct that tlre aflinnation o[a firtrtlamt'rrtal

macr,'.It uould be neccssarvcither for intimacv clr filr the operation to be elinrinated.But, being reduced to tliing-

rnav l>cjustificd on othcr grounrls,thc clcar consclotlsnerss of uhat is at stake irnmt'cliatclvtics dil'ine lilc t.-,a r('({){-

hood bv thc opcration, all that hercan do is to unclertake thc contrar,v' operation,a reductionof' the reduction.

nition of its olrscurcnatttrc, clf thc rright that it opcns t()
In othcr uords, thc ucaknr-ssof thc variou.srcligious positions is in having unclcrgonethe dcbasementof thc

and thc unf-etteringof thc intinrateorilcr is consc'iousttt'ss

onler of things u.ithout har.ingtried to modifv it. Without t'xccption. thc rcligionsof mcdiation lcft it as it n,as,

not iust manilt'stcrcsup-

98

99

f tll:lF N

lMll!:j

THE

OF

crountcring it onlv \\'ith thc limits of moralitv. Likc thc an'haic religions,thev expressh'proposetlto mairltain it, ncvcr litiing it unlt'sstho' had first cnsurcrl its stabilitv. hr d're encl,thc' rcalitv princillle triumllhed o't'erintitnac:r" is not rcallv What is rt'quircd bv sclf-consciousncss 'l-heintimate ortler of thc ordt'r of things. thc dcstructic-,n cannot truh' destr
(fF

RE

The General Destruction

of Things T'r bigi' r'r'ith,*c l'rareclcar consc.iousncss i' its elab.ratcd fbrrn. []urtht'r, the of prrclut.tici., the ,^lcr 'orld of things, has rcachctl thc point of cler.clopmcntu.hcrc it does nclt knou r'r'hatto tlr uith it. pr,,,lucts. -fht. first colrditi'n makt:sdestructior p'ssible; the secondmakesit ncccssar\'.Ilut this cannot bc donc in the cmpvrean,that is, in unrealitv, to w'hich thc religior-rs approach usuallv leads.The moment of decisionrlemands,on thc contrarv, a considcrationclf tlre poorcst and least intim.rtt.aspe(,ts of thc problenr. Wt' must dcsc.enrlnolr. to the lor.r.estler el of the lr.orld of man's reducticin to thinghoorl. I can shut mvsclf up in mr. r..,n., .r-,-,1 look there for the clear an
r0 0

ll!DUST lty

l0r

Nou I plac'era largc glass of alcohol on rnv tablc I har.cbere'nuseful. I havc lrought a tablc, a glass,etc. But this tablc is IX)t a mcans o[ labor: it helps mc ttr clrink alcohol. In st'ttingmv drinking glasson thc tablc, to thilt cxtent I havedestrqr, t1,, pl',\e,or at le'astI liave
supcrlluous univcrsc u.hcre it is clissolr.ecl, the mass ol cflbrts is nothing n('\t to thc lutilitr o[ a singlc mornenr. -l'he frcc vet submissir.t,momt.nt, furtivcl.v inr.olrc
a nrinutt' amortntof thc carpcnter'slahor' At lt'astthis ta[>ltin this room, hcavv u ith the chainsclf l.rbor' for a time harl

dcstr'rcd i'thc intir-natcmonlert. rt is a return t
no otltrr pLlrposcthan mv brcakingloosc' I anr nou going to rccall thc use I have madc of the

or thc general destruc:tionof
moncv carned at mv rvork tablc. If I havc lr'astcd part of that l.nonev,u'asted part of thc

(l (' Jr (()ns( iousnes\t.his t ablc t . east , t: , f or m , li. t in. lt ,r and opaqur- ,screcnbctr.r'ecrrthe r,rorld and mt. Ilut this

timer the rest cnablcd mc to livc, the dcstruction of thc thc tablc is alreatlvmorc atlvanced.Ilad I just oncc scizerd

table cor-rlclnot bc clcstrovcdin thc fleld of mv c.onsc.rous_ nessif I did not gir.c my rlcstructiotrits;..,rl,r"qu.-nr.tsin

moment bv the hair, all tht'preceding tirnc',roultl alrea
tlre rcal rirrler. Tl'rc real rcducti.r.r of thc redu.ti.. of thc, rcal <>rderbrings a fr-rndamentalrevcrsal into the cc.o_ nomic order. lf u,e.are to prescn,ethc mor,cmentof thc

srrpplies,all the jobs that allou'edme to do so rvoulclsuddcnlv bc dcstroved;likc a river, thev u'oulti drain cndlc'sslr.into the oct-anof that bricf instant. In this u'orld thcre is Iro immense untlcrtaking that has anv other cnd than a dcfirtitive'loss in the futilc nrom('nt. Jtrst as thc urrrld of things is nothing in thc

econ()*Jr' *c nee
102 l0l

REI

IGION

WI T I ] I N

LIMITS

OF

R EASON

uill not clestrov humanitv itself. Thc destruction of thc subject as an indiviclual is in fact impliccl in thc tlestruc'tion of the objerctas such' but n'ar is not the inevitablc form of the destruction:at anYratc, it is not thc ctlnscious is to bc, in thc gcneral form (that is, if sclf-consciousness sensc.human).

104

: c

F

I

Y

Thc positing of a rcligious attituclc that q ould rcsult fron.r clcar consciousn('ss,and r'r'oultlexcluclc,if not thc ecstatic fbrm of religion, then at least its mvstical fbrm, differs radicallv from the attcmpts at fusion that excrcisemintls anxious to remedy the u'cakness of currct'rt rcligious positions. Thost' in thc religious rvorkl u'ho arc alar-rneclabout thc lack of harmonv, lr,ho look f
lrom thc virilitv

is thc spirit necessaryfor joining violenceand consciottsnc.s-s of "svlrthesis."l'he endcavorto sun) up that u'hith scpa-

r09

Y

ratc rcligior-lspossibilitieshar,c revealcd, and to makc their shared contcnt the principle of a human lifc raiserl to universality, sccms unassailabledcspite its insipicl rcsults, but for anvonc to v'homhuman life is on cxperience to be carriedas.laraspossible,theruniyersolsum is necessarily that of thc rcligious scnsibilitv in time. Svnthesisis most

nholc, rlissolvcsinto ttars, into ecstasv and intcl bursts of laughtcr, and rc'r,ealsthe impossiblc in lat,ghter,ccstasv, or tcars. But the impclssiblethus rer.ealc,l i, n.,t an ecluivo<'al position; it is thc s
clearlr, rvhat rcvcals the nced to firmlv link this u'orld to that rvhich the rcligious sensibilitvis in its univcrsalsum in time. This clear revclationof a declineof the rvholc lir.ing rcligious lr'orld (salient in thesc synthetic forms tliat abandonthe narrorvnessof a trarlition) u.as not givcn so long as thc archaic manifestations of religious feeling appeared to us indcpendently of their meaning, like hieroglvphs that could be clcciphered only in a formal r.vay;but if that mcaning is norv given, if, in particular, the bchavior of sacrifice, thc least clear but the most dir,inc and thc most common, ceascsto be closcd to us, thc u.holc of human cxperience is rcstored to r"rs.Ancl if rve raisc ourseh.'espersonallv to the highcst degrercof clear consciclusncss, it is no longer the scn'ile thing in us, but rathcr the sovereignrvhosc presencc in the world, from hcad to fcrot, from animality to sciencc and from thc archaic tool to thc non-senscof poetrv, is that of unir,ersal humanitv. Sovt-reignty dcsignates the mor.emcnt of frcc and internallv lr.rernchingviolcncc that animates the

110

rll

fO WFI()M Ll l -l : IS A N l -.X I' l i R Il i N (l

' l ' () ttl r (A R R l ti l ) A \

,., FA R A S P OS S (IIL[;.

I have not meant t
You are not anv more tliffcrcnt lrom me than vour right leg is from vour left, but u'hat joins us i s TH tr S I Ll -l l 'Ol i R IA S ()N - W Itl C tl I' R ()l )tl (' F.SN { ()N SfLI{ S .

Apt,t-Nl)tx

Gener al

T abl e

an d Ref er en c es

I fecl obligcclto prerscnta table* that makesit possibleto visualizethe successivepossibiliticsas a singlc do'clopment. This figure emphasizesthe dialectical charactt'r of the rlevelopment rvhose phasesgo from opposition to opposition and from stagnationto movement. But abovc all it offcrs thc aclvantagcof bcing clcar. Unfortunatelv this claritv has its draw'backs. It tcnds to dcprivc mv exposition of a virtr"rcthat it mtrst claim. As far as possible,I have tried to present the foregoing logical movement in thc forrn it rvoulcl havc in thc final statc of consciousncss,that is, clt'tachcdfrom an elabclrati on of i ts hist or ical or et hnogr aphic f or m s. For t his rcason,I have excluded discussionof thosc lorrns as *cll as rcfcrenccs pcrtaining to thcm. *'['ht'etli tor of B atai l l c ' sc ompl ete tr' ork s nott,s that thi s tabl t' uas not fi runrl am ong th< ' author' s papers .Itrans . notc ]

t17

I uas all thc less inclincclto link thcse develoPnlellts to an analvstsof thc particular rcalities as tht:v are dist inc t lv s c p a ra t(' fro m th c l a tte r: b v defi ni ti on thtsc realitics corresponcl in a callrititlus, imllerf'cct rvav to the necessitvthcl' cxpress.In the last instancethis ncccssitv m av har e o p e ra tc c l u n rc s c n ' c d l v u ' i t hotrt t-r' er hari ng bccn inevitablc at a prccisc moment. Forms that I have presentcd as being inti:gral u'ith one anothcr maY havt' devcloped at timcs one after the othcr. Morcover, I havt'


had to articulatc the stagesof a mon'cment as il there \\'ere a discontinuitv, rvhcrcas continuity is thc rulc and

trv to n:
transitional forrns havc a t:onsiderableplacc in historv' Ilvbrid forms, rcsulting from contacts in time of rcrv

to others the contorts of tht:ir clw.nthought.

dilferent cir,'ilizations,also introduce conlusion' Finallv, it at .r particular is clcar that conditions rcgularly 1>resent

idca of aD open movement rtf reflection. This moveme'nt

has bccn polishedbv thesc rcrluctionscan it casilvreveal I u'ould likc. to hclp mv t-cllou'beings gct uscd to thc

stagc may rtaPPear ancl bcconre operatilc at stlme sub-

has nothing to conceal,nothing to fcar. It is tnre that ther resultsof thought are strangelvtied to testsof rivalry. No

scqut-nt stage.

one can entirelv separateu'hat hc thinks lrorn the real

O f c o u rs c th i s a p p a re rl t ta s tta l n cssdoes not at al l pr ec lude p o s s i b l c , c l r ra th e r, n c c c s sarY ,di scussi ons.I repeat that this piece of rvork is lar from completion' And in fact the completeclnork, if it is possiblc,should rcsult

authoritv thc cxpressionolr this thought nill h.rrc. And authoritv is acquircd in thc courseof gamesrrhose trarliti < l nal , somc r vhat ar bit r ar l, m les oblige t he one- nhcr cxpresseshimsclf to give his thought tht' idea o[a flau'lcss

It is a common crror of persllcc{iom such cliscussions. tive to think that trv contesting a particular point onc

and dcfi ni ti vc oper at ion. J'his is an cnt ir cly excusable

contests thc soliditv of thc outlined lr'holc. J'his u'holc is itself the rcsult of mv o\\'n ct.rntestationsancl not onc of

ncl longer havc anvthing to clclu'ith a rcal proccss,ne(.essarih' painful anrl opcn, aln'ays secking hclp and ncvcr

them failcd to enrich it, although, past a ccrtain point, I

admiration.

il8

comcclv,but it isolatesthought in bird-likc clisplarsthat

I l9

IN BLI:

This iustification of thc mcthod follou'ccl dot's t.tot

AND

REFERENCES

prevtrnt mc from sccing its rcal disa
nor all those of the cconomy of salr.ation.In thc first placc it n'as nclt amenablcto the autonomousdcr.elopmcntof

concern intelligibility. Hven if rcpresentationsdo not take on their full meaning until thev dctach themsclvcs from

clear consciousnesscir of philosophy (yct, through the ic:onoclasmthat it opposed to thc }Jyzantinchicratism, it

therrcalities to u'hich they rcfcr (u,ithout being positivcl-v

n'ent furthcr than the crlassicr rnilitarrr ordcr in rcducirrq thc forms of ar t t o r cason) . Second,it
grounded in any of thcm in particular), they rvill not be fullv unclerstandablcif thev do not ir-rgt-ncral shed light on thc historical forms. This schema, uhich needed to

mecl i ati on and upheld a t r anscendenccof t hc divine lr'orld, rvhich conformed to the military tvpc of a violencc

svstcmaticallvavoid prccise refercnces,u'as nonethe-lerss to be folloned bl' an elucidationof history u'ith thc help

dircctccl to the outsidc. But lr,hat is true of carlv Islam is not at all trr.reof latc Islam. Once thel4oslemempi,re rcachecl

of its figures.

its limits of growth, Islam bccamc a perfcct cconomv of salvation.It mcrelv had forms of mcdiation that u.erelcss pronouncccl ancl morc pathetic than Christianity. But like

I r.villconfine mvsclf, howcvcr, to tlnc cxample choscn u ith the intcntion of shorving ir.ra general rvav the frccdom that is nccessaryto this modc o[ intcrprctation. Therreshoulcl be some point in stating herc that Islam cannot gcnerally bc regardcclas a form corresponding tcr a s inglc o n e o f th c d e l i n i ti o n s g i v e n . From the outsct Islam u'as a military orcler, limiting, even more strictlv than others, those activitics ll'hoscrPurPoselvas not force and militarv conquest.But it pre'scntsthese pcculiarities: it rvcnt, surldenlyand discontinuouslv,lrom a spendthrifi archaiccivilizationto a n'rilitarvonc; but it clid not realizc all t he po s s i b i l i ti e so f th c l a tte r, fo r o t the sameti me i t expcricncerd,in an abridged fonn as it u'crc, the devclopmcnt of an cconomv of salvation.Hencerirt its first phasc it dicl not have'all thc charactcristicsof thc militarv or
120

christianitv it ga',e.rise to a c.stlv spirituallilc. Mvsticism and monasticism devclopcrl; the arts remainccl in principle u.'ithin the limits of iconoclasmbut escaperd rational simplification in every rl.av. Olr,ing to the rclatively small part plavcd by internal violcnce, Islam rvas cven the most stable of thc diffc.rent economicsof salvation,the,one that bcst ensurcd the stabilitv of a societv. 'fhis kind of application of a method aims to shou,,on the one hand, thc distance that separatcsfrom rcality thc figuresof a schema,and on thc otherrhan
-r-

AND

to situatca constructionthat is rather ocltllvcliscorlnccted from its foun
Eulrt, l)unrnelr\{. 7he Elementor,t' Lormsol the Religious Lili,

or should I charactcrof n'rv statcmcnts,it secnls1>ttssilllt', in a gt:neral say, nccessar ,l , qfter the etent, to conn('ct them \vav to somc of their origins. I clo this in thc lbrm of

unjustlv rlisparagednona
Frct' l )ress , 1965. hnr ile Dur khcim sccm s t o r ne t o bc dclctrir.re but not uithout retaining its essentiallessons.

refcrt:nccsto n'ritings rvhoseauthors in somc tlav movt'cl tou'arrl thc prccisetonceptionsolthis "thcclrv,"
Alt,xRNuRt' Ko1tvl. lntroductionto the Reading9J Hegel,

r.ontents ol-fcr reft'rt'nc:cpttints that gr-ridcdmv stcPs'

tion of Flegel'sPhenomenologt of the Spirir.The ideasthat

I rvill give thcm in ratrdom scquenc'e'firllorl ing thc alph.rbeticalordcr of the authors' nalnes.

cclrrcspondcncesbetr,r'centhe Hegelian analvsisand this

C'ornell Llnivcrsitv Prtss, 1980. This rvork is an cxplicaI havc tlerelopcd herc.are substantiallvpresent in it. Thc "thcory of religion" n'ould still nced to lrc specifierl.The

Groncts I)utl,t(,ztr..llitra-Varttna,Zone Books, l9tl8. The interprctations of Indo-EuroPeanmythologv that are Pursued in thc a
diffcrcnces betrvcen the tu,cl rcprescntationsappcar to mc to be easill' recluciblc. Thc main cliffercnce conccrns the conccpti on t hat m akes t hc dcst r uct ion of t he subjcct the conrlition - neccssarilvunrealizable- clf its adcqua-

( 193l) - ('orrtsPond to thc ( 19I I ) .rr.rilF/amine - Brahntone c ons t r uc ti o n s th a t I h a v e c l e v e l o p e d:tht- consci ousl v Hegelian th e s e s ,a n ti th c -s e sa, n d s v n t hescsof (i eorgcs

tion to thc objcct. I)otrbtlessthis implies lrom thr- start a

I)um6zil set forth the oppositionof pure violencrc(on the

the
dark antl nralcfic sicleof the divinc norltl - \'artlna antl thc Gandhana, Ror.nulusand thc Lupcrci) to tht' divint'

ovcrcomc bv anv svnthesis:there is an irlentitl' of' the:

ordcr that ac:cortlsu'ith prof'aneactilitv (Mitra and thc Brahmans,Nttma, [)ius Fidius and thc Flamincs),and its

trulv giren exccpt in the mediation of particularitv, but

rcsolution in the erternal and efficaciousviolence of a

cloesnot o\.crcorne pain [or painful jov] exc'cpt in dr.ath, or in thc state of atararia * ccltrparableto thc
human anrl rational militarv
stateof mind radicall,vopposedto Hegelian"satisfhction," lrut hen: the contraries cclincicle(thev onlv c'
particular bcing and the univcrsal,and thc unilersal is not the resolution of the indivirlual into the non-inclividu.rl

conrDlctt'satislartionllrcnte thr mainttttanlt' of the rcso-

122

l2l

TABLT'

lution at the lervclprior to ecstasy,u'hic'his not a rt'solu). Il a v i n g h a d to c i tc th t- u rirk of A l cxantl re Koji'vc herc, I must emphasizt'one point: uhrtevcr oltint ion. . .

ion onc may have of thc c'orrectncss of his intcrytrctation of Hc gc l (a n rl I b e l i e v c th c p o s s i b l e c' ri ti ci srnson thi s priint shriukl be assignt'rlonlv a limitt'd valucl, this /nrroduc t ion, re l a ti rc l v a c c e s s i b l c ,i s n o t onl y tht: pri mary instrttmcnt ol self-consciousnes.s; it is thc only uav to vicu' t hc r ar iou sa s p e c tso l h u m a n l i f' t - th e p ol i ti i al as1> ccts in particular -
AND

REFERFNCES

basisof anl undcrstanrlingol' (,(.on()m\.as bcing tierl to li rr.rs of rlt'str.r'ti.' of tht' cxc't'ss'l' trc:tir,e acti'itr.. 1>r'rl Stlt'st-

PF.lRt,r,l},Nt.. Le dualisntcdons l'11ist()rede la philttutphtc et tlesrcli,qion.r, p6trc_ G.rllirnarrl,1946. Sirnor.rc nrt'nt' u host'moral position is that of the ancielrtgnostics, l)rcscuts thr- qrrestirn of tht' lrist'r' d..-rlis' *'itlr a 'l' r.r.rarkablc clarit' in this littlc [ro,rk. Startirg li.m hr-r < l ata,I ha' c. '. hr ". l t he t r ar r sit io,lr <; r 'ar ch. r ii, - , lualir 'r t, tht' tlualisr.ro1'spiritz'rrattcr,or rathcr,'f tr.rrs.c'rlcr.rcc s('llsu()us u or-kl,tht' onh rlualisr.n rrrnsirk-rerllrv tl,rt,atrthor. BrnN,lHnlno l)F S.{HA(;[rN . (]enerol Hi.strtr.tol thc I'hinosof' N crr .\pui n,Llnir er sit r . of LI t ah pr ess, 1974- 1982. . f his spa.i sh nro . k's i'r 'est igat i. r r co'dit i"s il- rJlr r . xic. 'f pri or to th c ( ionqucst , especially,his inclt r ir v int o t he human sacrificcscclebratcdin grcat numhers in the tem_ pl es of Mexiccl, n'as c. onr lur , t eilusing Azt t , c inf br m ant s nho had bcen n. it ncsst s.I t is t hr m ir t r t , liablr and t he m'st clctailecl
t25

Y

]RY

Of

RELIG

ON

R. H. T',qwNr.vReligionond the Riseo-f Capitalism,Llar_ court, Brace,& L'o., 1926.This book'.sanalvscs,baserlon a u, eal th o f i n fo rma ti o n , s h o u th c i mpcl rtanccof the clclil>eraterlisjunc.tio, of tlrc sat-rr.,l.rnclp*l[a.e *,orlcls that u.asat thc origin of capitalism.Pnrtcstantismintr
t26

I